Pure Nuff Stuff :: Blog
Every now and again a customer will ask us to make a product, sometimes it's something similar to one we already make, but every now and again people come up with a request we just haven't thought about before. Getting on for nearly 9 months ago now, a regular customer here in the shop asked us to make a kitchen soap that would cope with her own kitchen niffs (no-one likes garlicky hands do they?) but also her husband's when he comes home from work. He's a fisherman, quite a tough job in itself of course, but it left us with quite a tough job too - how do you get rid of fishy smells?
Of course we thought immediately of the citrus family, I use grapefruit essential oil so liberally at home (we have a dog) that visitors immediately ask if we're growing them inside the house. So we tried a really strong grapefruit oil soap, it smelled great (and did a fabulous job of cleaning my dog when she'd rolled in something unpleasant) but it didn't pass the Fisherman Test. So we turned to a combination of Orange and Grapefruit oils, again, it smelled great, but wasn't quite up to the task. So we thought and thought about it and the inspiration came to us quite litterally over a cup of coffee. Dougie and I locked eyes when we saw the coffee grounds in the bottom of the cup - of course!
So off I trotted again up to see Cath at the beautiful Honey Pot just up the street from us and she happily obliged by donating a couple of kilos of used coffee grounds for us to experiment with - the re-use part of this really appealed to me, but I won't lie by saying I didn't take the chance to stop and have a cake and coffee there, it'd be mad not to to be honest.
Suitably refreshed, I trundled off back to the workshop to begin another series of tests. The grounds had to be dried out first of course, so this gave us a couple days to really think about the essential oil blends. We settled on three to test out and were delighted (some 10 weeks later when the soap was ready, it's not a quick process soap-making lark) to hear that we finally had a bar which passed the ultimate test! In truth, the soap doesn't smell strongly of Orange (which has shocked us, we know how much went in there and it should pong!) because the grounds do such a wonderful job of neutralising all odours. But the test batch we did with no essential oils at all didn't do the same job, so we know which works.
Finally, the name is a bit of an odd one, but what else do you call something full of coffee and orange? It just screamed "Breakfast" to me!
There's no point standing still is there? We've got to make sure we try and do better all the time. And while we try really hard to collect all the feedback you give us and publish it, we've decided to make the whole process a little easier.
So there's now a "Review" section on the site on each product page. You can give us stars, let us know what you like and what we can do better.
And every month, we'll pick one of the reviewers out of a hat and send them a little thank you for thier efforts.
What with Christmas approaching and all, I've been very remiss in posting recently, but it's high time I got in gear and let you know what's been happening here at PNS towers, there's so much!
Firstly, there have been a bundle of new products launched recently - check out the New Products section for all of them of course - but our firm favourite has to be the Keep Balm and Carry On. It was first created last year for a group of builders we had here working on our beautiful building. At first, we had all the usual giggles from them about being a lovely bunch of girls (they hadn't noticed Barry making soap in the cellar at this point) making soap and smellies of course. Then one by one, when all thier friends had gone to lunch and weren't overhearing anything, they'd make thier way into the workshop and show us cracked cuticles from plastering or callouses and ask if we had anything to sort them out. We didn't have anything specific at the time, so we made one. They were every so good about reporting the results they had bless them and we'd soon perfected the recipe.
The result is a balm that's so healing and helpful it can be used everywhere you've got skin -cuticles, lips, eyebrows (very good for taming we've heard) and elbows, feet, you get the idea. It's a great alternative to any petrochemical based product you might be familiar with, so we're very pleased with it. The blend of base oils was put together with very hard skin in mind; it needed to be totally different to anything we'd ever created before, greasy enough to penetrate a callous, soft enough to get out of a tin and healing enough to work quickly. The essential oils we've used are there for healing and soothing of course and the amount of Vitamin E in there really does a lot of work too. Not forgetting the very healthy amount of luscious Cornish Beeswax we're lucky enough to get our hands on, that too does real work in there to heal and soothe.
It was a hard product to name in truth, the fact that it's good for so many things means that it couldn't have a bodypart in the name like most of our others, but so far the feedback on that has been positive too - it raises a smile if nothing else! But once the idea had been suggested to us on Facebook, it just really fit the product. It does help you to just do what it says on the tin, carry on, and we really liked that idea.
So that's the story of our favourite new thing - do keep us posted on all the ways you're finding to use it, we never tire of hearing them.
Well it might be just that it's a Monday and I'm cross that my wonderful weekend is all over, but I saw THIS press release this morning while catching up with general Beauty News and I'm scared my face will freeze all scrunched up now.
OK, it's pretty and very shiny, so my inner magpie should be squealing with delight right?
Seeing that picture should be fuelling my desire to have it (and note here that I'm not even considering the fact that I don't have a million pennies to my name...) and in truth, it's a thing beauty. It might even smell nice, I don't know.
So what's got me all scrunchy about it? DKNY are donating the profits to Action Against Hunger. I want to shake them for that. Yes, I can see that it's all very laudable and they probably will raise a few quid for a worthy cause (after the cost of all the gold and diamonds has been accounted for, obv.) - but it all has an air of Marie Antoinette about it to me.
:/
Most excitingly, Rachel has created her first product - Sole Food. It came about when we were
And we've been doing Bath Salts and Bath Milk here in the shop for a few months and they've been selling so well we decided to offer them on the site too. They're very simple, feel good, they're full of good things and pretty petals to pamper while you soak. There's one more thing, but I think I'm going to do a whole post about it so that will do for now.
Hope you all have a stupendous week, we're already raring to go (three batches of Conditioner and 60 litres of Squeaky Clean Gel have been made the morning already - uneard of for a Monday!) and hope you're enjoying the same superb weather :).
Among other news here is that our remaining Rachel has created her first new product - how exciting is that! It should be available for purchase in July now, so very well done Rach and thanks so much to everyone who tested for us. I can't say too much about it just yet, not till the copyright people have finalised one last thing, but I'll put pictures up as soon as we possibly can.
Hope you're all enjoying this spot of fabulous weather too, we'll be back very soon with more news.
And it's around this time of year we all start to think about baring those bits of us that have been largely covered by wool for the past few long months. For my part, I have begun the long and tedious task of preparing my feet to emerge from boots to flip flops again and the girls here have already applied the first layer of Natural Tanning Cream of the year - whoopee!
On the subject of feet (is it just me that's obessed with hoofy state of mine?) I don't know if it's because I'm on them most of the day in the shop, but they seem to be worse this year than ususal. So I'm experimenting with a new foot treatment. Would anyone else like to join me in a little experiment in return for some feedback please? If you would, then drop me an email with a note of your address and I'll get a sample pot in the post for you. Thanks very much :)
Yes, we have discontinued that one, but will be bringing a replacement out very, very shortly. As you were so fond of the old one, would you care to test out the new one for us to see if it comes up to scratch please?
Nice to hear from you either way, hope you're enjoying some sunshine too :)
Thanks for your patience with an answer, sorry for the delay in getting back to you. But to answer your question, we're not going to be stocking a deo any time soon, but I can recomend the Lafe's ones that the lovely Pauline at the Organic Bodycare Shop stocks.
Well we've decided to give up giving up this year. We're not doing resolutions, we're doing aspirations and we're doing one a month for the whole year. I think it's easier to start new habits bit by bit anyway, it gives you time to fit them into your daily routine. So this month, I'm aspiring to keep to the 20 minute rule for my own housekeeping.
If you're not familiar with this one, the idea behind the 20 minute rule is that you spend 20 minutes every day doing a household job that you wouldn't normally do - you do 20 minutes and then stop (even if it's not finished). And I must say, so far it's working. I feel like I'm getting niggly little jobs out of the way and I don't feel like I'm being a slave to the house (the "bits drawer" in the kitchen hasn't been so clear in years). And yes, it did take me 4 days to clear out the spare wardrobe, but as I knew I was going to come back to the job, I didn't feel bad about leaving it till the next day.
I also made up the 10 minute rule. This one is just for me - l spend 10 minutes a day doing something for me. Instead of setting aside a whole evening a week and trying to remember to pumice my feet, pluck my eyebrows, do a facemask, whip up a hair treatment and all the other stuff that makes up personal maintainance these days, I'm doing a little bit every day. And that's working too - my eyebrows are no longer battling to meet in the centre and my toes are painted for the first time in weeks. And I don't feel like I'm being selfish either - there's enough pressure on women generally to be there for everyone else that we do tend to put ourselves at the bottom of every list. Like we don't have enough guilt in our lives, eh? The little confidence boost you get every day from feeling well groomed though, well, that's worth a lot in my humble opinion.
Have you got any new ideas for this year or do you live in the moment enough that you don't feel the need to make big changes?
I know, I know, no-one enjoys it, but it's important. I've been getting these done for nearly 25 years now (Lord, I'm old...) and I'm STILL not used to it, which is utterly pathetic I know. After a little chat on Twitter about screening checks and when you last had one (thank you @BigFashionista) and one here in the workshop we realised that we were all putting it off. So the two of us that can have booked one today and we feel rather proud of ourselves actually. What did shock me was that women under 25 have to pay for thier own screening now - did you know that? I was horrified.
Anyway, the point of this post is just a little reminder about an important general health check, if you can't remember when you last had a cervical screening done, book one today, please.
Here endeth the lecture.
Basically, in a clinical trial, it was proved that regular use of aqueous cream thins the skin by 10% within a month. 10%. That just can't be good now can it? Not even for healthy skin, let alone for use on those suffering with this very distresssing condition. So why does the most widely prescribed treatment for eczema not help?
Well, most people, doctors included it would appear, believe that aqueous is very benign - it's fragrance and colour-free, so it's a reasonable assumption I guess. A wrong one, but I can see how they got there.
The big problem with aqueous cream is the inclusion of SLS as an ingredient (it's in the emulsifying wax, which is, interestingly, the first ingredient on the list, meaning it's the largest constituent ingredient). Those of us familiar with this ingredient would wonder why it's there. SLS was first licensed for use as a surfactant (bubble-making ingredient) in wash-off products, things like shampoos and shower gels. The reasoning at the time was that, despite reservations about the safety of it, it would be rinsed off and not spend much time on the skin. But as it's being used now in leave-on products like creams, not the original intended use.
Let me get back to that bit about emulsifying wax being the largest constituent ingredient. The function of wax in a formulation like this is either to bind the water to the oil or vice versa. So why is it used in such a large proportion to the rest of the ingredients? Could it really come down to the price of it, that fact that it's so much cheaper than oil or even water? I wonder. I can't say of course, because I don't make creams that way and I don't have access to thier reasoning, but I must say, it's my suspicion. Which is a bit sad.
The next ingredient is normally liquid paraffin. This isn't an oil as you'd recognise it, it's there more as a barrier and because when you then stroke the skin it's been applied to, it appears to be soft. It, for want of a better phrase, "seals" the skin and stops it losing more moisture. The debate on the safety or efficacy of these mineral oils rages on - they're a by-product of the oil industry - and isn't limited to the natural skincare industry. Google chucks up a few debates on the subject, just one of them is here, take a look and make up your own mind about it. My problem with it is that it doesn't actively benefit the skin, which is rather the point I thought of using a cream the doctor prescribes. It just prevents you losing more moisture through the skin, it doesn't replace it in the same way that the application of a good quality skin-friendly nut or seed oil would.
So, if you're a fan of using this type of cream, whether on eczema-affected skin or, as it's often used, as a cheap make-up remover, I might re-consider that choice in light of this new evidence.
But there are alternatives, one of which we happen to sell, as you've asked - and we've received two awards for this range so far. The link to the range is here for you, but if you have any more questions then please don't hesitate to ask, we're happy to help.
Well at least we have some research to substantiate our beliefs now - long may this type of research continue eh?
I really like the article you posted too by the way, I'd not seen that one, thanks. Makes interesting reading eh?
We've been sold exfoliation as an essential part of a skincare routine, it started off being recommended as a "once in a while" idea that has now worked its way into being encouraged as a daily activity - particularly for problem skin. It's madness in our opinion, for the following reasons:
Firstly, your skin is there for a very good reason, to keep the outside world out. It's a delicate, complex and easily upset organ. We should be doing all we can to keep it in place, not treating it as the enemy and scrubbing it away - this is even more important if you're suffering with problem skin which is already so disrupted.
This whole exfolilation industry is a very new one, with the object of parting people from thier money, it's not about the health of the skin at all. A small amount of very gentle scrubbing from time to time isn't what I'm objecting to here, it's the wholesale parting of you from the top few layers of skin that's the problem.
The top layers of your skin are there to protect the younger, even more delicate skin underneath from the ravages of the outside world until it's ready to emerge. You should be doing all you can to keep those layers, not sloughing them all off as early as you can. Peeling off the top layers will only age the newer skin more quickly - this isn't what we're being sold though. When did this idea become an accepted wisdom? Applying a good quality oil to the skin (whether in a cream or just the base oil itself) will help those outer layers look brighter, be more elastic and stay with you for longer - and you'll look better for it.
So, what do you do if your skin isn't looking as bright as you might like it to? Well, lets tackle the problem skin issue first - if you've got spots you're producing too much oil. Stripping this off won't cure the problem, it will make it worse. I can understand the temptation here is to scrub it dry and try and keep it that way, but resist. All this does is keep sending the message to your skin that it's dry and needs more oil, so the whole cycle starts again. By all means clean it, twice a day at the most. Then moisturise it, this will beak that cycle of over-production of oil and you'll start to see the results soon - even sooner is you develop the habit of drinking plenty of water every day. Water helps your skin clean itself, making sure you drink enough is the surest way to clearer skin.
For more mature skins, people exfoliate in the hope that they'll look younger for it. I don't believe this is the case, but if you're still worried, then try to gently encourage blood to the surface of the skin with gentle brushing. This won't peel off layers of skin, but the increased circulation will help your blood to do the job of renewal in the proper time frame. And yes, water will help this process too.
Finally, if you really, really, really want to exfoliate even after reading all this, then please try this recipe next time:
2 heaped tablespoons soft brown sugar
2 tablespoons oil (whatever you've got handy, olive oil is great for example)
2 tablespoons vegetable glycerine
Couple drops of your favourite essential oil (a blend of frankincense and rose is great for more mature skins; a blend of lavender and lemon is great for problem skin).
On to much more sensible things, do give the more gentle oil cleansing method a go, report back your progress on it if you can, I'd be really interested to hear your thoughts on it.
I'm actually not too worried about potassium sorbate to be honest, it has a job to do and does it with minimal impact in my opinion. And in this application, where it's sitting on hair, which is - not to put too fine a point on it - dead anyway, then I don't have an issue with it. It's pretty widely used though, not just in skincare, but home brewing and in many foodstuffs, how do you manage to avoid it altogether?
I do understand general caution of course, but I think that with the job it does (and you're right, it inhibits bacterial growth) I can accept that some protection is necessary to keep the product fresh. The only alternative would be to buy "single use" size products and accept all the extra packaging this would produce and I'm not comfortable with that. I do hope this helps put your mind at rest.
And I get you about the Tat Pat, it might seem odd, but the argument I hear on the other side is that the art of tattooing is probably older than the art soapmaking, the human race has been self-decorating for a long time. So we're not about to convince the comitted that we're right and they're wrong, but we can prove to them that natural is best as far as healing is concerned. The inks used in tattooing have changed hugely in recent years too, so perhaps the message is getting out there.
Customers who've asked us to produce a healing balm that won't affect colour are asking because they've been recommended to use other more chemical-laden products for tattoo aftercare and they don't want to, so we obliged. I'm a blank canvass myself, so I won't be getting inked any time soon (in truth, I'd be a bit scared to I think, plus, I'm an old lady now!), but I'll happily help those that wish to :)
We are considering another brand of crystal deos (Alvin Connor are the ones we like if you fancy having a look at them) and even if we don't stock them, we'll be able to tell you where you can get the Lafe's ones so we won't um, leave you high and dry.
Sorry, I couldn't resist that one.
ChicoBags - I blinking well love these shopping bags, they're funky, strong as a strong thing, pretty and light to carry. They fold up into a sweet little pouch and have a practical carabina clip so you can clip them to your bag and never leave home without them. They have superb eco credentials in that they're made from recycled plastic bags so they're litterally things of beauty and function made from rubbish. Oh, and they're under a fiver. Have I raved enough? If you're convinced by all this, then you can get one from the lovely guys at the Phoenicia Food Hall (phone 020 7267 1267). I can't find anywhere online that they're available here yet, but have contacted the company today to check, will let you know what they say.
Gourmet Smoked Garlic from L'ail Olive - I know, we can all peel garlic for ourselves and all that, but this stuff is delicious, can be used on stir-fries, mixed noodles, spaghetti, you get the idea. Delicious though, do try it.
Royal Organic Vegetarian Caviar - I'm not a veggie, but I do eat a lot of veggie food, I just like it. But sometimes it's just lacking something, the feel of the foodstuff is wrong or it just all starts looking a bit too brown for me - but I was blown away by this stuff. It's made from non-GMO soya and looks just like you'd expect it to, shiny black beads. It tastes uber special, but has none of the ick-factor of the real deal. If you're planning a special dinner party or just a special night in with a loved one, then check this out, at £5 you can't go wrong.
Peppersmith Gum - You won't be surprised to hear that this is peppermint chewing gum, but it's a bit more than just that, it's great quality, uses ethically sourced ingredients and they even provide little strips for you to wrap your gum in so you can throw it away responsibly. Clever people. And it tastes gooooooood.
Parissa Wax Strips - Not something I've used too often before, but Rachel convinced me to give it a go. The ingredients on these are simple and great, but it's the ease of use and lack of mess that makes them special. Both Rachel and I gave them a go last night from the comfort of our respective bathrooms and then texted eachother excitedly to say how brilliant they were - no mess and VERY effective. The only slight hesitation I'd have is that there weren't quite enough strips for me or Rach (and we're not freakishly hairy, maybe Canadian woman have shorter legs?) but they're certainly worth a go.
I'm still going through some of the brochures and samples so when I come across more stuff I'll add to this list.
The most exciting thing we've been up to is all about the workshop - we've made a new Hair Conditioner to test (results for that should be available in a month hopefully), some fabulously squealworthy bath melts (just ordered some new ingredients for them and they'll be out in a month too) and we've made 3 new soap blends (no idea what they'll actually be like for another 10 weeks of course, but early signs are good). One thing just lead to another in there and we're working on some other new products too, but that's all very early days yet. Is there anything you'd especially like to see?
The next exciting thing is that we're off to LONDON BABY! in a couple of weeks, it's the Natural & Organic trade show on the 11th and 12the of April, so we're all off to that - bright lights, big city and all that, much to look forward to.
And finally, I had a bit of inspiration from The Mister at the weekend, we were doing a bit of pottering in the garden and I was whinging on about my frustration over the whole Sun Cream issue. He listened for a bit and then said "Well it's all mountains and Mohammed innit bird? Get someone else to pay for the certification, how about the suppliers, they have a lot to lose too don't they?" How right he is. Am now in talks with the suppliers of the SPF stuff and it's looking quite hopeful - will keep you posted.
Thanks so much, we're glad you're pleased :0) it's looking good at the moment, they're exploring costs and staying in contact, so fingers crosssed and all that - I shall indeed keep everyone posted.
And on your other point, the strength of the Gradual Tanning Lotion, thanks for your thoughts. It was formulated with us lighter skinned people in mind (my skin is a very light blue in it's natural state, but I recognise us quasi-smurfs are a rare breed). But, after some recent customer comments we have in fact made this a little bit stronger very recently - can I send you some to see if you think we're heading in the right direction please? Email me with your address if you're up for trying some out for us and thanks again for your input.
Nice to hear from you :). But I'm afraid I'm going to have to disappoint you - there's just no such thing as a dish washing product that's kind to hands but still effective on dishes, it just doesn't exist. In order for the detergent to cut through the amount of grease and oil that's in the average washing up bowl, it has to be quite strong. And that's never going to be skin-friendly, no matter what type of detergent is used (eco-friendly or otherwise), sorry. Gloves are the only effective protection, good, old fashioned terrifically unattractive, channelling-canaries-bright-yellow rubber gloves, it's the only way to protect your hands properly, honestly.
Don't worry - random is always good! And yes, I do understand what you mean about anti-perspirants, we've got so used to them and yes, they do work and it's so hard to give them up when you know that it's just not natural. Tapioca's a new one on me though - my first reaction is a little sceptical, I'm thinking underarm porridge here now, not an attractive thought.... I could be very wrong however, it wouldn't be the first time.
So, as we don't make the deos here ourselves, I'l have a quick word with Lafe for you (he's a real person, I do like that) and see what he thinks - it's always interesting to us manufacturers to hear what's in customers' heads.
But not so lovely to hear about your problem with the deos, that's a new one on me and I'll certainly have a word with Lafe about this one for you. The packaging did indeed change - and I personally think that was a good move, these ones are much nicer IMHO - but as far as I'm aware, nothing inside the bottle changed at all. So if you're experiencing problems that's not good as I know you've been using them a good while now. I'll let you know what he says, OK?
And yes, happy to share the soap info, we're experimenting with stronger citrus smells for Summer, so we've done an Orange one (this one is decorated prettily too, rather pleased with how that's turned out actually) and a Lime one. And I'm having yet another bash at producing a Rose one, it's like the Holy Grail of natural soaps, it's such a difficult scent to capture and keep, but I'm having a go. When it somes to selling it though, it might have to be a bit more expensive, I used a LOT of oil in that one (plus some honey and a few other really softening and moisturising ingredients)... Dougie was very concerned but he's very indulgent with me when it comes to experimentation. So, in a couple of months when they're totally cured I'll know how they turned out, soap refuses to be rushed :)
I got a copy of this this morning from the HSI Daily Health mailout and I thought I'd share it. What with Palm Oil being featured on Panorama again recently, it's in the news again.
Palm Oil: Why is it Wrapped in Such Controversy?
Dear Reader,
It's one of the cheapest oils to produce and it's in more foods than you can imagine... In it's raw form it has been found to have numerous health benefits. So why all the recent controversy surrounding palm oil?
The harsh reality is that its production poses a serious environmental threat to the Indonesian rainforests and its inhabitants. That's not its only drawback, as once it's processed and refined, palm oil also poses significant health threats to consumers - and that includes almost all of us, given how many products contain it.
Just go to your kitchen cupboard and look at the ingredients listed on the packaging of some of the items you've bought... I'm guessing that ‘vegetable oil' is listed on many of those labels - right? Vegetable oil is usually a blend of oils and in the UK, the oils used most in vegetable oil are soya, rapeseed, sunflower, maize and palm oils.
Palm Oil: Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde...
Palm oil in its natural raw form (red palm oil) promises to deliver many health benefits. Most of these benefits are linked to the high concentration of Vitamin E-tocotrienols (phytonutrient) it contains. Tocotrienol is a form of natural vitamin E that can protect against brain cell damage, prevent cancer and reduce cholesterol.
Here are some of the health benefits linked to red palm oil:
Given these numerous health benefits, it is hard to believe that palm oil has suffered such bad press. But why?
Palm oil consists of 50 per cent saturated fat.
Saturated fat turns to trans-fat when put through a refining process called hydrogenation or partial hydrogenation. Most of the palm oil used in our processed and packaged foods are hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated, so all that natural and powerful goodness has been destroyed and the result is simple: Man-made trans-fats with no nutritional value.
In fact, the only value it has is that it is cheap, adds bulk to products, has a neutral flavour and gives products a long shelf life.
What are the health risks associated with palm oil turned trans-fat?
Numerous health authorities have warned against the use of processed or refined palm oil in packaged foods. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute warned that the "high content of saturated fat... found in... palm kernel oil, palm oil, coconut oil, and cocoa butter" puts people at risk for heart attack or stroke. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) has also warned there is "convincing evidence" that palmitic acid increases the risk of heart disease.
Coronary heart disease: The primary health risk identified for trans-fat consumption is an elevated risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). A comprehensive review of studies of trans-fats was published in 2006 in the New England Journal of Medicine that concludes that there is a strong and reliable connection between trans-fat consumption and CHD.
Cholesterol: Eating trans-fats increases levels of LDL ("bad" cholesterol), especially the small, dense LDL particles that may be more damaging to arteries. Unlike saturated fat, trans-fat has the additional effect of decreasing levels of HDL ("good" cholesterol).
Diabetes: There is growing concern that the risk of type 2 diabetes increases with trans-fat consumption. The risk is especially higher for those in the highest quartile of trans-fat consumption.
Obesity: A 6-year study revealed that monkeys fed a trans- fat diet gained 7.2 per cent of their body weight, as compared to 1.8 per cent for monkeys on a mono-unsaturated fat diet. Although obesity is frequently linked to trans-fat in the mainstream media, this is generally in the context of eating too many calories, but recently research indicates that trans-fat may increase weight gain and abdominal fat, despite a similar caloric intake.
Liver Dysfunction: Trans-fats are metabolized differently by the liver than other fats and interfere with delta 6 desaturase. Delta 6 desaturase is an enzyme involved in converting essential fatty acids to arachidonic acid and prostaglandins, both of which are important to the functioning of cells.
Prostate cancer: A recent US study at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, has found a link between the consumption of trans-fats and prostate cancer.
So even though raw palm oil is healthy in many ways it is rarely used in this form in processed foods. Instead, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated palm oil is used which has been proven to be bad for your health.
Destroying the environment
If the confusion about the possible health benefits and risks of palm oil is not enough to make you question the use of this ingredient in processed food, then hopefully this will:
How to avoid the consumption of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated palm oil (trans-fats)
Many packaged foods now boast that they contain ‘no trans- fat'. For years, only true diet detectives knew whether a particular food contained trans-fat. This phantom fat - the worst fat for the heart, blood vessels, and rest of the body - was found in thousands of foods. But only people who knew that the code phrases "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil" and "vegetable shortening" meant that trans-fat lurked in the food were aware of its presence.
To complicate matters for the consumer, in the UK, there is no specific requirement for the trans-fat content of products to be included on food labelling. However, some manufacturers have started to do so voluntarily.
On the up-side, hydrogenated fats must be declared on the label, so if a product contains hydrogenated fats, it may contain trans-fats. Look out for the words ‘partially hydrogenated' on food labels as these products may also contain trans-fats. If this is not listed on the label then ‘vegetable oil' should set off the alarm bells for you.
However, once you start looking for this ingredient you will be surprised to see how many products contain it:
Make sure that the products you do use, contain palm oil that is harvested from sustainable sources such as Roundtable For Sustainable Palm Oil and GreenPalm.
Sources:
‘Vegetable oil allergy' published online by the Food Standard Agency in the UK, eatwell.gov.uk
‘Shining the Spotlight on Trans-fats' published online by Harvard School of Public Health, hsph.harvard.edu
‘Fats and Cholesterol: Out with the Bad, In with the Good' published online by Harvard School of Public Health, hsph.harvard.edu
‘What are trans-fats?' published online by the NHS, nhs.uk
‘Trans-fat: Health risks' published online by the Palm Oil Truth Foundation, palmoiltruthfoundation
‘Serum Trans-Fatty Acids Are Associated with Risk of Prostate Cancer in ?-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial' by Dr. Irena B. King, published online Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, cebp.aacrjournals.org
Red Palm Oil, by Dr. Bruce Fife, published online americanpalmoil.com/publications/Red Palm Oil.pdf
‘Palm oil products and the weekly shop' published online by the BBC, news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8517000/8517093 stm
‘Orangutan survival and the shopping trolley' published online 22.02.10, news.bbc.co.uk
We've had to stop selling it because some new EU legislation has come into effect on the protection factors in sunscreens. It's a good thing really, it will give us as consumers much more sensible options when we're buying suncream in the future, it's just a real shame for us because we were rather proud of that particular product.
The thing is, until this law came into effect in the past few months, there was no standardisation at all across the board for SPFs in sunscreens (so, for example Ambre Solaire's SFP factor 15 bore no relationship to say, Piz Buins factor 15; they might have been leagues apart in terms of actual protection, which is confusing, dangerous and just plain daft).
So, the EU have done a bit of work on this standardisation and now all manufacturers that make suncream now have to get each cream tested by an independant laboratory to verify that they offer the same protection as every other one in production. Good news for consumers of course, but not so good for PNS, the tests are spectacularly expensive so effectively it means that small companies like us simply have to withdraw the product.
So, that is the story of PNS and suncream. We're sorry you won't be able to buy it from us any longer and we'll carry on saving up the pennies so we can possibly, some time in the future, bring back what we know to be a stunning product.
The EWG is a good site to look for safer alternatives, thanks very much for posting that (and for being so nice about our own listing on there of course!). Of course a lot of companies on there are American, so this legislation doesn't affect them, but there are some good ones on there, thanks.
We have no plans to withdraw anything else :)
This legislation is a good idea though, it will protect consumers properly and it's been needed for a while, so I am glad it's been put into force, it's just a bit rubbish for us.
We really hate disappointing people - especially as we realise (and take a certain pride in the fact) that you come to rely on certain products, so we're gutted too.
But I'm going to be a bit useless with suggestions for replacements though, I've not used any other suncreams for years now, rather predictably. Drop me an email on this subject though please, OK? I may have a very short term solution for you.
We really are. We can't thank you enough - it's the support of our fabulous customers that makes every day here worth the slog. But this is a bit special, even for you. Thank you all so very very much - we can't believe you'd be willing to help donate money to help us, it's incredibly kind. We don't feel like we're able to take you up on the offer, but your support has galvanised us into trying to find some small business funding to cover the costs of this testing now, just so we can compete with the big boys, so thank you. You're utterly wonderful.
On a positive note though, we're doing well with negotiations with a new supplier for them to fork out for the testing if I tell all my friends in the industry where to get a pre-tested ingredient so we can all carry on as before. Will keep everyone posted on this, but there is, as my dear old Nan used to say, dozens of ways to get your own way, you just have to work hard enough at it :).
You may remember that I've mentioned Our Boys a couple times, we're sponsoring them to do this amazing thing (row across the Atlantic that is) and we've made all thier skin care preparations of course. Well, they've made it to the half way point now, you can read a bit about them on the BBC news site here. We're so excited we can hardly speak here! Keep going Phil and Skippy, we're thinking of you!
Just seen this little article about a new iPhone App, which may be of interest to you iPhone addicts. You can now check on the safety of cosmetic ingredients on your phone - have a look at the whole article here. Wonders will never cease eh?
It's a conundrum isn't it? The vagaries of various delivery systems means that some parcels can come under pretty serious stress by the time they reach our customers. To try and avoid the disappointment of you receiving broken and leaking products, we try and pack items as securely as we can. But we too are concerned about the amount of packing materials we have to use.
So we choose recyclable bubblewrap, which means that you have the choice to re-use or to recycle that part of the packing materials. The cardboard box is recylable of course and the the cheesy wotsits you refer to are corn, so they can be composted.
But we do share your concern, it would be nice to think that all delivery services respected parcels so we didn't have to be quite so thorough in protecting the items you've bought from us, but our experiece is that this isn't always the case. We'll continue to keep an eye on the amount of packaging we use though.
Let's hope 2010 brings us all lots of wonderful things - we're hoping for a few in particular: the creation of a teleportation pod so we don't have to drive anywhere on icy roads and, in a perfect world, the creation of a pill to help us lose the Christmas pounds quicker than we put them on. Oh and world peace and all that too of course.
One thing we will be doing in earnest this month though (as well as getting on top of all the orders placed over the holidays - thank you for all those by the way!) is getting straight on with sourcing some nice makeup. So watch this space, it will hopefully be here soon. Thanks so much for all your comments here on the blog and for the emails we've received from some of the shyer among you, it's really helped to solidify some of our own opinions and thoughts.
So, that's what we're going to be doing this month - what are YOU up to, have you made any resolutions?
But I'm a touch jealous to be honest, staying in and baking seems like the nicest way of keeping all this snow misery at bay! Hope the wee one's much better soon x
And on the weight thing, I'm right there with you. I have a whole heap to lose, it's too depressing to publish details, but I wish you well. Dieting is utterly miserable isn't it?
I can't believe it, but we're actually nearly there aren't we? We've had a stunning year and we've only got you lovely people to thank for it, yet again. So, from the bottom of our hearts we'd like to wish you the very merriest of Christmasses and the happiest and sparkliest of New Years.
With HUGE love, Emily, Helen, Dean & Doug xxx
Hello again, I thought it would be nice to let you know what we've been up to in the last few weeks since I last posted. Well, it's the run-up to Christmas now, officially (I'm allowed to say that now it's actually December!) so the shop is bustling with activity.
You'll notice the ever popular Gold, Frankincence & Myrrh Gift Box is back on the site, as well as the cheeky little Bath Hubug bar, we always have such fun making them :). As ever though, there are a limited number of both of them, so grab them while you can.
We've also had the final chat about make-ups. We've been talking about this to you for so long now that we realy do have to come to a final decision and run with it. Just so you know, we've struggled with this for one really fundamental reason - we can not find a supplier of mica that can guarantee the colour consitency between batches that we need AND do it in the sizes that we'll need, which is as I'm sure you can appreciate, not on the scale of the big multi-nationals. So we're going to have to buy it in if you really want it. So, the question to you please is, do you want makeup from PNS?
We're very happy to source some lovely makeup from other companies that share our ethics (we have our eyes on a couple of them already of course) if there's a demand from you lovely people. This will be the last time you'll get a chance to have your say on the matter so, what are YOUR thoughts on this please?
Welcome to the debate, I don't believe we've spoken before *shakes hand nicely* but thanks for your comments. You're right, we're not in a position at the moment to make the makeup ourselves due to the lack of the vital ingredients in consistent quality at prices we can afford.
So, the question was, would people like us to find some nice, similarly - ethical and hopefully affordable products? This will be less of a distraction than adding a whole range of products to the already long list to be honest, so it won't distract us from the ones we already produce - don't worry!
In a perfect world. we'll also try and do something about being able to supply samples too because you're very right, buying online is often really hard because of that isn't it?
Thanks again for your input and do let us know if you think of anything else you'd like to see us producing :)
That's really useful feedback. I did wonder that as makeup is so personal a thing - we'd have to stock all 7 shades of foundation powder to get one for every skin shade for example - that it might be best to leave that one to the experts, the people that make it.
And you've hit another nail on the head too, you wouldn't believe the hours that have been spent in trying to source the raw materials and then a brand we like already - we too would rather be putting that time and energy into new products. But people have been asking for it and as you know, we aim to please, so it's a hard one. Either way, we've no plans to stop making the lip gloss though, so breathe easy on that score!
I appreciate your thoughts though, we'll come to a decison on this one quickly now we've got some feedback on it.
Thanks for letting us know your thoughts - and yes we were thinking about the mineral makeups, though it's rotten to hear you're sensitive to them. And like you say, it's very unusual but in a world where people can even be sensitive to lavender oil, even we won't be able to produce a one-size-fits-all (how I loathe seeing that on a label...) product. How frustrating for you though, what can you use?
And you make a good point about talc too, it's used in face powders partly to make them more matte but mostly because it's a very cheap filler, so it's always a disappointment seeing it on the label.
I'd love to do that, we all really would and that's exactly how we saw it going, the consultation on colours, the products etc, but I'm afraid that without being able to get hold on consistent colour quality mica that it's still just a dream at the moment.
I'll post a longer explanation of the mica bit above this post, just because it will be easier to read at your end, but we're really disappointed too, I'm so sorry you are.
On the hand wash point though, we are stocking a hand sanitiser (what with all this flu going around etc) which is great for those times when you can't get to a sink (clicky linky). But I do like the portable handwash idea, I'll check out the possible packaging solutions for that and get back to yo - thanks again PNSF, you're a consistent mine of Very Good Ideas :)
I've mentioned them before, but we're sponsoring two local men who are intending to row across the Atlantic Ocean in a boat they made themselves. Yes, that's right, they're going to row it. The Atlantic blinking Ocean. You can learn more about the race itself here (clicky).
The two guys in question are not just incredibly brave, they're talented, committed and best of all, they're incredibly nice people. The race starts on the 6th of December, but it doesn't start here so they have to go to the The Canary Islands first. We're sure you'll join us in wishing them fair weather, whale-free rowing and good luck and health.
We've helped them in the small way we can by supplying everything they're going to need to keep thier skin in good condition during this feat of astounding endurance - sun cream, Hair& Body bars and some very special balm that Helen's made for them to help heal, soothe and repair thier skin - the ultimate product test if you will.
We'll keep you posted on how they get on as best we can, but you can keep en eye on their progress (and help them, they still need stuff) here (clicky).
We've now got a Facebook page as well. I've popped a load of photos on there as I seem to be struggling to post them here. It's a better place for them to be honest, there's quite a few of them.
We will be using this page in future to give advance notice of some Special Offers and we will be doing the odd Facebook-only promotion as well, so it will be worth keeping an eye on. Do let us know what you think of it.
If you're making a Jack-O-Lantern in the next few days, don't throw away the bits you cut out for the eyes and whatnot, make yourself a skin treat instead. Pumpkin flesh is rich in vitamins A and C and the skin also has some powerful antiseptic properties as well, so it's all good stuff, don't bin or compost it, use it.
To make a facemask, pop the bits of pumpkin flesh into a blender with a couple of teaspoons of honey (a powerful humectant, or moisturiser, as well as being an antiseptic also). You can also add a little bit of milk at this point, or better still, cream. If you've got dry skin, then add a few teaspoons of olive or sunflower oil to this mix. Oily skins will benefit from a few teasppons of apple cider vinegar or cranberry juice. Plop this on your face, avoiding the eye area naturally, and relax for 10 minutes, then rinse off. This mix will keep nicely in the fridge for a few days, don't feel you have to use it all at once.
To make a body scrub, use the flesh and honey mix as above but add 4 or 5 tablespoons of olive or sunflower oil and the same again of brown sugar - all these measurements are very "ish", do feel free to use more or less of any ingredient as you please remember. A few teaspoons of ground almonds would be nice to add too if you've got them, but it works well without. Then take yourself off to the shower and start scrubbing, using circular motions and working up from the feet and in from the hands, always working towards the heart.
So the ladies here are doing things with our evenings this Autumn, Helen and Rachel are doing courses this year so they've got homework. I will be learning to play backgammon and sewing this year, I've always wanted to be able to make clothes, so that's the plan. They boys? Well, they're not as into the whole "learning new things" spirit as we are this year, we'll keep encouraging them...
And it struck me that some of you haven't seen our lovely shop, so here's a shot of the outside, I can include one shot per blog post apparently, so I'll pop up some more of us, the shop and the making process over the coming weeks.
You do make me laugh!! Hello again PNSF, lovely to hear from you too :) So, what are you going to take up this year then? I saw a lampwork class (lampwork is the making glass beads apparently, no, I don't know where the lamp bit comes in either) the other day, I might well sign up for that too. I'll think of you now in the long Winter evenings doing your embroidery, for some reason in my head you've also got a rug over your knees too, but that may just be me projecting images of what I do :)
And sorry, but there's a slight technical difficulty with photos at the moment, so I will be posting them once that's finished (if I'm totally the technical difficulty is that I'm a bit of a biff, but I will sort that out very shortly).
We'll look forward to seeing you then, you will hopefully notice a few little changes here in the shop, you'll be a little too soon for our Christmas window of course but we're still really rather proud of our Autumn one. See you soon and all the best ;)
All here is going along pretty much as you'd expect at the moment. We're getting nicely geared up for Christmas (oh I know, it's awful to be thinking about it so early, but we have to make soap months in advance) and we've got some super new products to launch for then.
The shop is getting a little quieter with the end of the tourist season looming, but we've had such fabulous weather this September that it seems even harder than ususal to welcome in the Autumn like we should. On a stricly personal note, the blackberry harvest is the only thing that I'm taking consolation in at the minute, it's been incredible this year hasn't it?
And I've been trying to catch up on some general reading as well (in between broadband hiccups) and have come across this which I thought might interest the active campaigners among you and this that I thought those of you whoe were as terrified about the whole mobile phone thing as I was might be interested in.
Have YOU seen anything interesting on the interweb recently?
It was lovely to see you again Di and thanks for those very kind comments. We really do love the "multi-use-ability" of the products and it's great to see someone really taking that to heart and experimenting like you do - keep up the good work!
Sorry for not replying earlier, I've had a little break - I'll update this blog soon with all our recent activity when I've caught up with myself :)
I'd LOVE to see a letter you wrote to someone asking them to substantiate these claims, I've wondered about them myself :)
And yes, complacency is rife and dangerous, but it seems that some people are getting through, have you seen the TIPS site by any chance, she's making real waves in the training of midwives now too, which is great.
We're all very well thanks, in fact we're bursting with good health and we're all a touch mischievous today too - hope you're having a top day too :)
We're approaching a bit of a milestone here at the minute, we're very close to the 10,000th order on this site! That's not sales to date, we couldn't keep the old total :(, but it's still a big thing for us. In true Pure Nuff sytle, we'll be having a bit of a celebration here, but the lucky customer who places the magic number order will also get a bit of a treat of course, we like the spread the joy :). So if you were thinking of placing an order, um, now might be a good time *wink wink*.
We've hit 10,000 orders on the new site! We're delighted and would like to thank you all for helping to make this company a success. We've always known that all we are is down to how fabulous our customers are, so thank you.
And Sally, the lucky person who placed this magic numbered order, got it free, our way of showing our appreciation :)
Today was the first day that I really smelled Autumn in the air here, you know that smell that's a bit cold, a bit fresher than Summer? It was a little bit sad, what with having nearly no proper Summer but I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise, what with it happening every year and all, but still...
On a lighter note, we've got some new stuff out now, so all the hard work over Summer is now coming to fruition. The Gradual Tanning Lotion is already a hit - we had no idea how many people seemed to be waiting for us to make this! And some new soaps soo, the individual soaps from the wildly popular Kasbah Box set are now part of the range for good, it seems you love them as much as we do. Finally (for this week at least) the new Lemongrass and Ginger soap is ready for sale today (whit-woo!!) and it smells just as yummy as you'd think it would and it looks a bit like neapoitain ice cream which just makes it yummier :) Check out the Handmade Soaps section for the details on all the new soaps (not forgetting the Special Offers Section for some bargains).
What do you read regularly? Along the lines of eco/health sort of thing I mean, my near-obsessive perusal of Heat does not need to be discussed here... It's so hard to try and keep on top of reading generally, but are there any in particular that you love or really rate?
We try and read every issue of the Ecologist and Natural Health and I do love them, the styles on both, while very different obviously, are really good, but I wondered if there was anything out there you think we're missing out on?
Oh, and if you feel like being a little bit horrified, I saw this jaw-dropping little article today on the Campaing for Safe Cosmetics site. I'm angry about it actually, I think they should name and shame.
History's not exactly a strong subject for me, but I think it was indeed her that had pockmarks that were caused by or filled in by the white powder makeup that was so fashionable at the time. I just can't believe this one, it's such a retrograde step, we all think we're so well read on ingredients and then this pops out.
If you liked that, have you also heard about the carcinogens and the formaldehyde that's in Johnson's Baby products? Use the same link as in my previous post, there's a whole section on the site where you can write to Johnson's and ask them to justify thier "Pure & Gentle" claims in light of this. By the way, and I'm not trying to defend them, in the interests of fairness I should point out that they are by no means alone in this. It's the fact that it's legal that's the problem I think.
You're so right about this, I think there's a lot of mileage in this too; but as you rightly point out, nobody is going to fund it unless they can make a patentable compound out of the results, it all comes down to the filthy lucre doesn't it?
And I'm going to make you really cross now. I LOVE the celeb mags, it's like my secret shame, exept not so secret. I like guessing who's had what kind of work done (I can spot a thread lift or a chem peel at 500 paces now, me) especially if they claim it's down to a cream as you say. I think those claims are really all about who's advertising in the mag though, rather than being actual personal favourites. Airbrushing is reaching new heights these days though, poor Kate Moss appears to be reverting back to puberty at the minute (depending on what mag you're looking at). And I have a personal theory that Liz Hurley, Nicole Kidman and Kylie Minogue share the same plastic surgeon - they're morphing into the same person, check it out, honestly, go look at them, they are.
In all seriousness though, as much as I love these mags, I hate the way they make women feel about themselves, people do take them way too seriously (well, I think kids do, not sure women of my age seriously expect a cream to take away 20 years of alcohol, tobacco & sun abuse.... or do they?). I treat them as a fun way to pass 20 minutes, with the added bonus that I can walk away knowing that nobody's going to be photographing ME from an unflattering angle around every corner :)
I'm a little bit pleased with myself. I did a proper home pedicure last night (yes, the other half was out, no-one should witness the amount of filing it takes to make my feet look like anything less than hooves) and I'm delighted to be wearing sandals today.
I soaked my feet first in warm water with two squirts of Handwash (it was by the sink, I couldn't be bothered to go upstairs for any Squeaky Clean Gel but that would have been fine too) with a couple generous tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda and just one of table salt. I did this just long enough to really enjoy a small glass of wine - that is my scientific measure of how long this process should take by the way.
This softened the heels enough for the first round of filing (I wasn't joking about the hooves, really). While I was doing that I let the Nail Oil soak in and that softened the cuticles enough to remove them from the nails with an orange stick. A quick once over with the wonderful glass nail file followed to shape the nails properly. Then into another foot bath with the same ingredients for round two of de-hooving.
By the time that was done, I had lovely soft feet and I finished off with by slathering my feet and lower legs in Heavenly Feet cream leaving them all tingly and really light feling. The best bit about this was that I had to sit with my feet up (and perhaps another little glass of wine...) while it soaked in, bliss.
What do YOU do to give yourself a bit of a lift?
Oh I know it's gross, but it's kind of a fact of life for some of us isn't it - and don't worry, lunch was safely down by the time I read this :)
I'm going to try your shea trick tonight you know, now that I've finally got the hooves/trotters in a fit state I want to keep them that way. And of course for the fully glamourous option I could so this just before bedtime and wear cotton socks too, but I might wake up single. Hmmm, keep that idea in my back pocket I think...
Nice to hear from you and hope you're very well too - we're all on top form here, thanks. Take care xx
It's been quiet on the blog front, but not on any other, it's that time of year isn't it? The shop has been wonderfully busy and we've all been doing a balancing act trying to get a few days off each.
I've been trying to get a bit of research done in and some of my favourites at the minute are these, I like the easy explanations on Wiki especially.
Triclosan (the antibacterial agent used in lots of handwashes)
Ethylene Dichloride (a solvent often used in shower gels)
Magnesium Silicate (talc basically, what horrid stuff this is)
What have YOU read on the web recently that scared you?
Hello all, it's been quite a while, so a bit of explanation is in order I think. We've been inCREDibly busy, we received our biggest ever order from a new stockist, they literally wiped out 90% of our stock overnight, so we had a LOT of making to do to get back to normal stock levels. At the same time, Helen was off as she wasn't well and Dean was on holiday, so it's been a little bit manic to say the least. Rachel, Heleena and I came at the weekends and made huge batches of everything and now Helen's back, we're back to normal again. It's the best kind of problem in the world to have though, so we're not complaining at all, I just thought you'd like to know that I've not been ignoring the blog, I've just not got to it for a while, sorry.
But apart from that, we've been having a blast. We've has some lovely ideas for Christmas (I know, it's awful, but we've got to start thinking about it now or we won't get it done in time...) and we've met even more of our wonderful band of internet customers. Seems like a lot of people are holidaying in the UK this year, which is good to see.
We've also had a meeting with our new friend Kevin from the Fishermen's Mission in Newlyn (or the Fish Mish as it's referred to locally). The process of soapmaking means that there's a little bit of waste from every batch, trimmings and so on, they're perfectly good bits of soap, just odd shapes. So we collect them up and when the box gets full we drop them off at one of the hostels in the area - I hate waste of any kind. This time round I contacted the Mission and when we dropped off the box of goodies, we had a chat with Kevin there. They do amazing work for the working men of the port and most specially for the families of men lost at sea in this most dangerous of occupations. They provide lifetime support for these families and what they manage to do there on a wing and a prayer left a very deep impression on Helen and I. So we'd like to help them.
We've been supporting the Precious Lives appeal for more than a year now and we're really proud of our contribution. But we feel that the Mission is providing such a massive service to people at the worst time of thier lives and they really need help too. So from the 1st of August 2p from every bottle and jar we sell will go to the Mission in Newlyn. If you'd like to see for yourself what they do, have a look here.
I've not forgotten about it, we've just been unbelievably busy. One of our number isn't well at the minute and of course it's holiday season, so we're short-handed. On top of that we've gained a couple new stockists recently and they've literally wiped out all our stock, so we've been in the workshop all last week making frantically. We're delighted of course, it was just something of a surprise :)
Still, in the midst of all this, there's been a few nice things, we've had an idea for a couple new products and they're out for testing at the minute. I'll be able to tell you more in about a month or so, but we're rather proud of ourselves. The shop's been nicely busy too and it's a constant source of amazement to us how many of you pop in and see us - thanks to all of our internet customers who take the trouble to come in and say hi, it really makes our day.
Normal random rambling service will be restored shortly of course. Hope you're all well and look forward to seeing a few more of you before the season's out.
Yes, finally, we have new brochures available. We'll be popping them in with all orders for the next couple of months as a matter of course, but if you'd like one before then, please drop us a line on the normal email (info@purenuffstuff.co.uk) and we will of cfourse oblige.
I am working on that as we speak, having a few technical problems though, so it should be working tomorrow.
Hope you're very well by the way, it's been a while since we chatted x
Sorry about being a bit quiet on the blog front for a few days, I've been spending time with my gorgeous niece who came to stay for a few days, been seeing Cornwall as a tourist which has been just fabulous.
Then back to work today to a mountain of orders so I've been wrapping myself in packing tape all day, I never seem to be able to handle that stuff without sticking it all over me. Anyway, the lovely Dawn Mellowship (author of Toxic Beauty, we'll have some in stock soon, it should be on all our bookshelves in my humble opinion) drew my attention to this article from the Daily Mail.
I didn't know that both butyl and propyl parabens were under investigation at the moment, did you?
Oh and finally, yet another of our super customers popped into the shop to see us today, this one all the way from Aberdeen, I think this might be a record!
It was great to meet you too, it's one of the best things about having a shop in a touristy area really, we get to see our fabulous customers from time to time, even if they come from millions of miles away like you did!
It's Golowan time again here in Penzance, (clicky here for details) a wonderful week long festival of the arts. The whole town is decorated with beautiful banners and we're all in festival mood. Last night was the Chapel Street Open Evening bit of it, so we couldn't let that go without giving it some very special Pure Nuff treatment.
So, throwing all sense of propriety to the dogs and dignity to the four winds, Helen, Rachel and I dressed up as fairies - wings, tutus, wigs, tiaras, painted faces and heaps of glitter. The boys joined in by donning elf ears and "Elf And Safety" tshirts (and glitter of course), thanks very much to our fabulous Fairylove friends for the costumes by the way. We gave out free punch and small slices of soap (and more glitter, oh I got awfully free with that after a few cups of punch...) and watched the bands parading up and down the street and the amazing torchlight procession. If you ever fancy coming to Cornwall at any time, try and make it for Golowan, it's something very, very special indeed.
Our Douglas is such a sweetie. Helen, Rachel and I were sitting out at the back of the shop drinking tea doing the final edit of the brochure (we hope!) and Douglas just popped his head around the corner of the soap cellar steps and proudly announced that he's made one ton of soap so far this year. Then he happily disappeared back down to his soap dungeon, love him.
We're a bit excitable today, not just because it's Friday and we're finally getting close to getting the new brochure to the printers at last, but also because we're going out to dinner together tonight. Nothing fancy really and for no reason other than it's nice to see eachother outside work sometimes.
What are YOU up to this weekend then?
How nice of you!!! I'm so pleased the young girl is looking and feeling better now, acne is such a crushing blow to teenage confidence, it seems so unfair of Mother Nature to hit us with something like that when we're at our least capable to deal with it, doesn't it? Happily though, wise women like you are there looking out for the youth, how kind of you. And thanks for the promotion job too, it sounds like we should have you on a retainer of some kind :) Nice to hear from you too by the way, heaps of PNS love from all of us here x
I was in the supermarket yesterday, never one of my favourite jobs but as I wandered the aisles, I became more and more confused. I kept seeing all these natural ingredients but in the strangest places.
What on earth have you been doing to need Aloe Vera in loo roll? On second thought, don't answer that. But what good will it do in washing up liquid that's chock full of so many harsh surfactants that it would be completely redundant as a smoothing agent (pampers your hands indeed...)? What could be the possible benefit of conditioning agents in nail varnish remover? Are people really fooled by this cynical addition of nice sounding ingredients that can't possibly have an effect when sitting alongside chemical counterparts?
Then I found this article and it seems I'm not alone, all this is just another example of companies that really don't get the natural message in the first place leaping on the green bandwagon. And it seems it's not helping them much as it goes.
*steps off soapbox and takes a few deep breaths*
Have YOU ever been confused by natural ingredients in seemingly incongruous places, or do you think it's as good thing?
Guilt's a terrible thing isn't it? I've done exactly the same to be honest, what's the point of wasting the products altogether? And if someone gets something they think is nice, then you've done a good thing I reckon, don't beat yourself up about it.
You may or may not be surprised (I still am) to learn that I get a fair few bottles of smelly stuff every year too. But what else can you do but smile, put on your very best "pleased" look and thank the person who's been kind enough to give you a nice present? So, with the very same heavy heart you talk about, I take it to a charity shop unused and pass it on.
Falls apart?! How did THAT ever get through the research phase then I wonder? Tee hee...
It really does seem that these natural additions are just a bit of a smokescreen doesn't it? And like you say, it gives people the feeling that they're doing something good - or that the product is somehow better for them because of the ingredient. *sigh*
I thought of another kind of ingredient last night that makes me shout at the telly - the pseudo-scientific ones. You know, all these new things ending in the suffix "ox" making them sound a tiny bit like Botox, so they must do you lots of good, eh? Oh I tell you, it's a riot round at ours when the adverts are on, I sound like a mad old tramp shouting at invisible aliens so I do :)
That's another one isn't it, what's the point of having 95% natural ingredients if you then suspend them in noxious nasties? Surely it would de-nature them and make them pointless anyway? That might not always be the case I guess, but it does make the leap into natural products a bit pointless in my humble opinion...
I'm delighted to hear I'm not the only one shouting at the telly though - thanks for that Karen :)
It's a part of the market that's been largely ignored for years and now we're taking a teensy bit of the market share, they're waking up. But all this is something that women used to do themselves - my Nan used to make a superb hand cream, most women made some kind of skincare for themselves because until Elizabeth Arden and Max Factor came along, there wasn't really much around in the mass market. So what we're doing here is reclaiming old knowledge more than re-inventing the wheel. In any event, it's nice to know that it's as transparent to you as it is to me :)
Don't know quite what got into me, but I've been through the place like a dose of salts today, cleaning out cupboards and archiving all our files, and most importantly, done a huge stock check too. Very satisfying it was, the shop is all tidy and smart. Helen hates it when I do this, she won't be able to find anything now for weeks.
I realise that's terribly dull, BUT the interesting bit is that I found a handful of bottles and jars here that, while they're getting on in age a bit for us to sell, are perfectly safe to use and will be for quite a while.
So, you lovely people, send me an email with the phrase "GIVE ME FREE THINGS FROM PNS PLEASE" (with a note of your address of course) and I will send out what I have here on a first come first served basis when I get in on Monday.
Have a stunning weekend all xxx
No problem, you're all in luck, but I'm afraid the offer is closed now, UNLESS you'd like a Psoriasis Blend Facewash - got 2 of them to give away so please forward me your address (use the Contact Us bit on the site please) and I'll get one in the post for you.
Oh and I'm not being rude, but I'm going to edit your message Marie, just because it's got your address on it, hope you don't mind :)
This is getting daft, we're not a bird sanctuary, but they keep finding us. Kevin/Mary (see posts passim) is doing very well at my house now, no-one has claimed him so I think I have a new pet.
Today we were out in the yard sunning ourselves working very hard when we heard a plaintive little cheeping noise. At the back of the stack of empty 25 gallon oil containers awaiting recycling we found a teeny little chick looking very unhappy. We couldn't see his nest and you can't put them back anyway, so Helen's taken him home and will look after him till he can fend for himself. She's got lots of birds already, so she knows what she's doing there. Rachel named him Steven Seagull (the initial suggestion of Fluffy Pants as a name was quickly binned) and as soon as I can I'll post a picture of him (and Kev), we're getting that functionality soon.
I wonder what will fly in next?
I've emailed you about the bag and freebie but thought I'd let you know here that both Mary the Canary and Steven Seagall are doing very well indeed thanks.
Mary now has a ginormous cage that my lovely man got from a friend of his, it's a Victorian one with 3 sections and lots of space for her/him and he painted gold for me at the weekend so I can actually have a bird in a gilded cage (yes, I am incredibly spoiled and indulged). I'll be getting a friend for her/him/whateveritis very shortly, I don't want her to be a lonely Mary.
Helen reports that Steven is now standing up, but is a little unsteady so falls over backward a lot. He's feeding well though and soon as he fledges properly and isn't just a teensy ball of fluff, she'll put him in a rabbit hutch in the garden during the day so he can acclimatise a bit and see other birds. He's going to be a menace when he's fully mature though, seagulls are bold enough without being used to being hand fed.
Everyone is in a good mood today, it's the sun, that rare glowing orb in the sky that's making everyone happy - it's just great isn't it? The shop has been buzzing this morning - we've sold out of sun cream again so everyone must all be heading for the beach this afternoon. I've said it before, but it's lovely to meet some of our internet customers face to face, that's always such a thrill, Cornwall's such a very special county so it's fantastic to see so many of you here.
Oh before I forget - Canary news. You may have seen my post on Friday announcing the spectacular arrival of Kevin the canary in the shop. Well, the bird is now happily installed in our sitting room at home but has now, following a visit from someone who knows a lot more about birds than I do, been renamed Mary. Oops.
Today I've been out the back of the shop doing a bit of cleaning in what we rather grandly refer to as the yard, the wheelie bins were starting hum a bit (oh the glamour of being self-employed...). So after scrubbing them out I've rinsed them with some tea-tree essential oil and they're all fresh again. There's just no end to the uses of essential oils is there?
This weather is bringing out the best in us all isn't it? I went out last night (I know, mid-week cider is never the best plan, but I couldn't resist the temptation of tapas on a balcony over the harbour here) and everyone is just in the most wonederful mood, we're a simple race aren't we? Bit of sun is all it takes to stop us mumbling and grumbling...
Glad you're finding the sun cream effective, our Helen's been off work and gardening for a few days - she normally burns in Christmas lights as I do - and her skin is the normal shade of alabaster, as are her kids, which is great.
Forgot about that use for tea tree oil, daftly, as it really is a good one, I'll make a note of it on the relevant page, thank you. And while I think about it, I really must post the story of our Dougie's 3rd degree burn and how he treated that will EOs, I'll get on to that this afternoon.
Enjoy the sun all :)
This afternoon a canary flew into the shop. Yes, I'm serious, a canary. We have established so far that he's quite young and I've called him Kevin and I love him and want to keep him. Only boy canaries sing apparently, there's an interesting Bird Fact for you. I've called everyone I can think of, the RSPB, the RSPCA, the police, the local vets and the local radio station.
So, what exciting things have YOU got planned for the weekend? I shall be buying a bird cage and hoping the Other Half doesn't notice the new addition to the family :)
Oh it's good to be back! I've had the most fabulous few days off tending the garden (the veg plot and herb gardens are both doing very well fact fans) and now I've got a lot of catching up to do here. Dean's been keeping the orders going out (and posting on the blog, love him) and Dougie and Helen have been in the workshop making soap and creams flat out. Now Helen's got a few days off with the kids and it's my turn... trouble is, my time off has left me in a mischievous mood, I feel prankster-ish.
I'll try and control myself though, and I'll get busy with some ordering, we need lots of essential oils already - my, you like them don't you? - have you got any special requests?
Oh, before I forget, I've been growing some of the things I saw on that Grow Your Own Drugs programme, I really liked the sound of that hop and lavender sleep pillow. I have a new Top Tip, when growing hops in your garden, give them plenty of room, they've been growing 7 inches a day and are now totally covering the arch and reaching for the sky.
Nice to hear from you! I've only just been adding the new recipes this afternoon, well spotted! This section will be added to a lot over the coming weeks, so do let us know if you try any of them and tell us how they worked for you :)
And yes, I've been really enjoying the gardening, not sure I can take all the credit for it though as my industrious other half has been responsible for the compost which I'm sure has been responsible for the ridiculous growth we're experiencing. It's very satisfying this growing stuff lark isn't it?
Great news about the Lafe's trial too!! It seems too simple, but they really do work, I'm delighted to hear you agree :)
We have now added essential oils to the site, under the DIY section. I've tried to give a bit of background on the oil on each page and then suggest a few uses for it but in the interests of finishing the job before I hit 60, I had to keep it brief.
What we'd really like to do though is have a nice comprehensive list of uses under each oil, so can you please email me or reply to this thread with the ways you use EOs at home and I'll post them please? Many thanks :)
I'll have to investigate that, but in the meantime, type "Air Freshener Dangers" into Google, have a read and then tell me these things are safe. They make me feel ill so they do, avoid them at all costs I say.
This is a great tip, it doesn't cost a fortune and it's very effective indeed, one well worth trying if you haven't already.
I really like this sharing ideas thing that's going on here, I'm going to try and figure out a new way to publish them all more clearly. Thanks and keep them coming everyone!
Following on from Elaine's suggestion (and Karens and PNSFs support to the idea) in the previous blog post, we're now considering doing some sort of scents as part of the range.
The options as we see them are:
1) buying in some nice, essential oil based products that aren't too expensive and have good ethics in their production. There are a few on the market and tend to be oils in a rollerball dispenser, which I quite like (see reasoning below).
2) we could make some and use the lip balm pots to put them in, they'd be more of a solid balm that you can use on pulse points and be in the familiar PNS scents. The pros here are that it'd be quite quick to get them out so you could buy them. The cons are that I worry with the consistency that we'd have to make them in to be useable, they might be a bit melty, especially in summer, and the danger is that the product would leak out of the tins, not ideal.
3) we could invest in the rollerball packaging and make our own oil based roll on oil, again in the familiar PNS scents. The pros here are that it would be a very safe thing to carry about in a bag and you'd know exactly what was in it. The cons are that it might take a little while for us to source and print labels and make these available.
So, with all this in mind, do you have any thoughts/preferences/questions/answers for us?
Thanks for your feedback, Helen has a few of the rollerball thingies we were sent as samples the last time we kicked this idea around, so she's testing out a few different oils for leakiness now. We will of course keep you updated on progress :)
When we've got them to a point where we like them and trust them not to drip all over your bag, would you be happy to test one out for us and give us your thoughts on performance please?
Yes please, do send me your address and we'll pop one in the post for you - thanks Elaine!
Oh, and to all that are interested in this idea generally, the first tests have gone well. This was the incredibly scientific process of filling the sample roller-ball bottle we have in here with a very thin oil (jojoba, fact fans) and then standing it upside down overnight to check for leakiness. It doesn't. This is good news, it means we can crack right on with scent ideas and label design.
So, apart from the ones that leap immediately to mind, the Tantra scent, Rose & Vanilla, Geranium & Lemon for example, we've had HEAPS of other ideas too, Helen in particular is getting very creative about this so brace yourselves for a new range :)
Well we've finally faced the fact that we can't make everything, so we've decided to add a few things to the site that we like and think you'll find useful - all of them will share our ethos though so you can shop with confidence.
The first one I've put on is a nifty little hand sanitiser, does the job when you can't get to a sink to wash properly and doesn't cost a fortune either. Let us know what you think of them.
I'm also adding essential oils over the next few days, this is a long job though, so please be patient. We're also on with sourcing some nice makeup, home cleaning products and toothpaste, these are all being tested by us first, so will take a few weeks to decide on.
Is there anything else you'd especially like us to find for you?
I think I will pupt them under DIY, they are indeed suitable for making your own potions with (or adding to ours) so that's where I'll put them. I was thinking more of some of the other uses for them initially (cleaning, home scents etc) so that's why I started it off under Home, but it makes more sense to put them under DIY actually, thanks PNSF, I can always rely on you :)
And don't worry about us diversifying too much, or becoming an adertising site for other companies. Without trying to sound cocky here, we're pretty confident in our range now and I do think there's room in this market for a good few like-minded companies to support eachother, but I do take your point. We'll be careful x
And on the toothpaste front, we're still undecided about the brand, we're testing quite a few and I know it's been ongoing for a while, but it will be sorted soon. Once I got over my initial fear of myhrr-tasting products, there's quite a few I've found I like, it's just the ethics of the companies that make them and the provenance of the ingredients that we're checking on now.
From time to time a rather confused looking gentleman will come into the shop, bewildered by the array of bottles in front of him and it's pretty obvious to us that he's been sent in by his other half to pick something up. I really don't know why, but some men seem a tad uncomfortable in shops like ours. Well it happened again today.
A very friendly looking biker turned up about half an hour ago and just stood in front of the display counters looking a bit lost. So I asked if I could help him with anything and if, perhaps, he was picking something up for someone? He fixed me with a look of touching gratitude and blurted out "She smells of lemons, that's all I know!".
So Sir, that'll be the Geranium & Lemon Cream Dream then won't it? All the time I was putting it in a bag for him (after he'd recognised the jar of course) he was telling me how he'd been given VERY clear instructions on what to buy and how it had all just gone out of his head the minute he left the house. I don't think it's just me, I really do recognise that scenario. Dear of him....
It's a great way to ensure he doesn't get sent out for shopping isn't it really? Clever boy that he is....
I saw the couple at the heart of all this discussion on Friday night (small town see?, well village actually, I saw them at our new local) and told them we'd been talking about them. He was very sweet about it, as was his partner - and yes, she did get the right cream, happily.
And yes, I've had a reply from Lafe and I've posted it in full so you can see what he has to say - hope it helps to clear a few things up for us all.
I'm opening up this discussion at the request of PNSF, but please feel free to join in if you have any opinions you'd like to share.
To start us off, I'll chip in with our thoughts on the issues. Aluminium Chlorhydrate isn't suitable in our our opinions for use on the skin at all, let alone in such a delicate area. Google it and you can see some of the background on why and yes, before you say it, there isn't yet any huge amount of conclusive proof as to the link with breast cancer. But I'd rather play it safe than sorry on that particular issue to be honest. And don't get me STARTED on the idea of putting depilatories (hair dissolving ingredients) in deos either, that's just horrific - and I don't use that work lightly - in every conceivable way.
So, with all that in mind, I still like to be nice to be near at the end of a hard working day. So what's the solution? I wasn't particularly struck on the idea of using a lemon (no, really, that's a natural alternative and it does work for a short time, or maybe I'm just particularly sweaty, it wasn't enough for me though) and many of the other products on the market (rosemary or dill based products for example) just smelled a bit, well, hedgey, to me. So that's where the idea of rubbing a stick of salt on came from, the mineral salts kill the bacteria that cause the smell so I can stay sweet smelling to the end of the day without potential added risk of breast cancer. They're incredibly cost effective as they last for ages and they also double up as a great little spot stick, so I like them.
There are a couple ways of mining the allum salts though and not everyone can make the leap from roll-on to salt stick, so it's a big subject. So, what do YOU think? Are natural deos effective enough for you? Do you hate the idea of using a solid stick of salt or is that appealing to you?
Thanks for joining in, nice to hear from you! I'm not quite sure about your reference to the salt deos being not good for you, can you point me at what you read please? And what about the deos disappointed you just out of interest please?
As for the baking soda idea, yes, I did try that one a few years ago when experimenting with all kinds of natural alternatives, I think it's one of those ideas that works for some people better than others perhaps, have you tried it yourself?
Look forward to hearing your thoughts, as usual :)
The Lafe's unscented deo ingredients are here: Purified Water, Potassium Allum, Mineral Salts, Celquat, Certified organic Aloe Vera, Certified organic Hemp Seed Oil & Grapefruit Seed Oil.
And just for my own sanity, where did the confusion come from please, is there someone I need to gently nudge to update a web site somewhere? And yes, I will be checking our own pages RIGHT NOW just in case it's us that's the culprit :)
I've checked out Lafe's American site, ours, the bottles and a few other sites that stock it and there seems to be a bit of confusion around. I can only imagine that Lafe has been changing the formulation and somehow we've missed the change, the ingredients I listed out for you are off the bottles we have here in the shop and our ingredients listing on the site was done when we got our first shipment in (some time ago, we've stocked it for a while). And looking at some of the different scent options, there seems to be some other differences too, so I'm just as confused as you are now. So I've emailed Lafe your questions and I'll post his reply as soon as I get it. He's usually pretty good about getting back to us, so hopefully it won't be long.
Just goes to show you have to keep reading labels even if you know and like the brand, huh? Lesson learned and thanks for pointing it out PNSF ;)
Hi Emily,
I’ll answer each point, try to be brief, let me know if you have additional questions…
1) Our roll-ons, sprays and crystal rocks are made with potassium alum primarily, with trace amounts of other minerals; potassium alum is a naturally occurring mineral salt that is an effective antibacterial reducing body odor; the other mineral are less than one percent, hence trace amounts;
2) There are MANY different forms of grapefruit seed oil and grapefruit seed extract. The oil we use does NOT contain triclosan, any parabens or benzethonium chloride. We are careful to use reputable suppliers, those who we know and trust and make certain raw materials meet our formulating standards;
3) We have tested the polyquaternium-10 that we use and it does NOT react to produce known carcinogens. We are well aware of those concerns and formulate with only natural, earth derived ingredients to avoid possible toxic reactions;
4) We thicken our roll-ons to avoid an overly runny consistency and reduce the possibility of unexpected leaking. Lafe’s Natural and Organic Hemp Roll-ons are formulated with certified organic hemp, aloe and essentials to replenish the natural oils and soften and sooth the skin. The mineral salts provide effective antibacterial action to reduce unpleasant body odor.
Thanks.
Lafe Larson
And welcome, dont' believe we've spoken before have we?
In any event, you'll keep us posted about how you get on won't you please?
I can sort of see the logic in including calamine, it would be in there as an absorbant I would imagine, but with little in there to deal with the bacteria that actually cause odour (the rose, patchouli and fir have some antibac properties, but they're not power-houses really) then the rest is as you suggested, there to mask odour rather than deal with it. Bet it smells good though :)
Nice to hear from you though Ursula, thanks for your thoughts (and your kind words, that really made our day).
Helen and I are exhausted today, we came back on the train in the early hours of the morning after a couple of manic days in London at the exhibition. It was great to meet the team at Natural Health Magazine and even better to get our printed copy of the award (logos will appear shortly on the site on the home page and in the Care section of course). But it was also great to see what the rest of the industry is doing.
There are so many exciting things to tell you about, so apologies for what is going to be a bit of a long post, but i really want to share what we're thinking about now.
The first thing we looked out for was toothpaste. This has been on our minds (see how I refrained from using the phrase "tips of our tongues" there, no matter how tempting it was?) for months for a number of reasons. We thought long and hard about making it ourselves, but there are a few reasons why we've decided not to go ahead with it. Firstly, it would involve a lot of investment in new packaging and a machine to seal the tubes with, and secondly, there are actually some really good ones out there, so we don't need to re-invent that particular wheel. So we found quite a few at the show and we're testing them all now, you'll see them on the site soon.
Then we looked for makeup. Again, the packaging was going to require a lot of thought and these things aren't cheap by any means. So we looked at quite a few ranges and we're going to make a decision soon, we'll keep you posted on this too of course.
Cleaning products were next on the list. I know we've talked at length about these and I know that many of you are comfortable making your own products (friends of borax raise your hands here!) but there are quite a few people who aren't. So in order to get the chemicals out and usher in a new age of toxic free living, we're looking to stock some ready made products that tick all our boxes.
So why aren't we making all these products ourselves I hear you ask? Well, if we were to start with whole new rafts of products, we'd have to charge quite a lot for them and this might have an impact on our costs across the board. We're not comfortable with the idea of another price change though, so we're going to bite the bullet and deal with other companies who share our ethos, our rabid attention to details like provenance of ingredients, open communication and cruelty free production. You are always our first priority, so it's up to us to make sure those things are in place before we stock anything else. Plus we think it's sensible to really focus on what we're good at, making really pure, affordable skincare that doesn't harm the environment.
So, that's what we're thinking. What do you think? If you've got any thoughts on what I've said I'd love to hear them as usual - is there anything else you'd like to see on the site? If you don't want to post here, then no problem, drop me an email.
I'm off for a few days now, but I will be popping in to the shop every now and again (I can't stay away from this place for any length of time!) so bear with me if I post at odd times please. Have a superb Easter break everyone and l look forward to hearing what you've got to say.
I love stories like that :) And yes, to think that we've been synthetically producing something that's actually inferior to the natural original is just maddening, but we do seem to be turning something of a corner on this type of thinking now I believe. Now if we can all just get together and say a huge collective "NO" to mineral oils then we'd really be getting somewhere....
For anyone who missed the story this all refers to, clicky here.
I've opened up this new thread so we can have a bit of a debate about this, there's something to be said on both sides though. I like the idea of the programme, it's taking us back to knowledge that we've forgotten.
I say this all the time in the shop here, my nan used to make hand cream, she was quite locally famous for it in years gone by, her sister used to make soap and both of them used to barter for other goods with these home made items (wartime and all that). It's only in the last 50 years that we've relied on other people to make things for us, we used to make all these products ourselves, creams, toothpastes, cleaning products, even makeup (my mum still tells tales of using soot from the chimney as eyeshadow and an eye pencil to draw stocking lines up the back of her legs). We used to know what herbs were useful to us - and how to prepare them - I like that kind of self reliance to be honest.
Before we get completely confused here though, I'm not for a moment suggesting that we all start to self-diagnose illnesses and stop going to the doctor altogether. That's just daft. But if you've had a proper diagnosis, then I really am open to the idea of treating a problem - let's use the example of dandruff - a number of ways. The doctor might well prescribe something but if you choose to try to make your own shampoo (and not use the 2 at the same time, that would confuse the results) then I see no problem with that. When it comes to heart conditions, then really, I'd go with modern medicine every time, I'm just not in a position to tackle that kind of issue.
What do YOU think?
You're right, all these things require a lot of value judgements and a bit of investigation, there's no point asking a lavender plant to cure cancer for example. And there are a lot of charlatans out there selling snake oil to the desperate and that's not only appalling on a moral level, it's a manifestation of awful greed. This is another personal soap box of mine - companies selling potions that promise to make you look younger when it patently can't, but that's another subject...
But there are real benefits to be had from taking some of the old remedies and trying them out alongside modern medicine. It's about reducing the amount of stress we get from outside sources and helping the body to heal itself. And best of all, there's the added benefit of making sure that we get the best out of the modern medicines we do use, because we use them less often.
He does have a sensible approach on the programme though, I agree, he stresses the importance of including a doctor in the decision making process and that these aren't clinical trials. I think it's more about opening people up to the idea that traditional medicines do have something to offer, we've been trained for so long to trust the men in white coats that we're in danger of losing the alternatives, he's just on the other side of the scale, which is a good thing.
Well we said we had some big news and indeed we do. We're delighted to announce that we've been given a Highly Commended Award for our Eczema Skincare Products from Natural Health Magazine. This means we're really playing with the big boys in the industry now and as it's our first major award - get me, "our first", but you'll see:) - we're really celebrating.
Helen and I are off to Olympia in April for the proper formal announcements at the Natural & Organic trade show, but we really wanted to share this superb news with our fantastic customers first - thank you all so much for your constant support and feedback, you really are the basis of our success.
We're really happy too, a bit blown away, but very happy indeed. There's nothing else we're keeping quiet about though (like we could!) so sorry, there's not another announcement coming, this was it.
And I'd love to hear what you've got to say about GYOD, he's appearing everywhere on the telly at the moment, so I'm not sure if he's a particularly talented ethno-botanist or if he's just unusually tele-genic so he's getting lots of work. In any event, I still really like the programme, it's not a particularly comprehensive study of the field, but I do think it's a good intrduction to the idea for many people, so look forward to hearing your views. Is it worth a new thread all of its' own do you think?
Well we said we had some big news and indeed we do. We're delighted to announce that we've been given a Highly Commended Award for our Eczema Skincare Products from Natural Health Magazine. This means we're really playing with the big boys in the industry now and as it's our first major award - get me, "our first", but you'll see:) - we're really celebrating.
Helen and I are off to Olympia in April for the proper formal announcements at the Natural & Organic trade show, but we really wanted to share this superb news with our fantastic customers first - thank you all so much for your constant support and feedback, you really are the basis of our success.
Check out the News page for the ins and outs, but we've made some major changes in the soaps and with very good reason. So we've got a few soaps on Special Offer for a while (I know some of you have found them already because in the half hour it took me to make the changes on the site, 3 orders came in with them on!). Grab a bargain while while we've got some of the old blends in stock.
In other news, it's the weekend, I shall mainly be having a go at the garden, it's looking very neglected. There's a stream at the side of our house, so I've got a little bit of wall building to do. Plus that Grow Your Own Drugs fella has made me want to make a Hop & Lavender pillow, so I've got some hops to plant up. Helen is looking forward to ferrying her brood about madly between football, tennis and various Red Nose related short-people activities. Doug is walking another section the Coast Path again and the eminently sensible Dean is mainly watching the racing he says. What are YOU doing this weekend?
Hope you all have spectacular weekends whatever you're up to and, um, keep an eye on the blog next week, we have something of a big announcement to make (we're not allowed to say anything yet but I'M BURSTING!!).
Yes, the weight has gone down a bit, it was instead of putting the price of a bar up when we did the price change, plus we'd had so many comment from customers who thought the bars were too big to handle, so we changed them.
And I'm really pleased you'll have a look at the GYOD fella's stuff, he's got more of a botanical background I think, worked at Kew for example, plus he grew up in Singapore and has more of an eastern medicinal influence generally as a result. He's very sensible about making sure viewers get qualified medical advice before using his remedies and don't just bin what the doctor has prescribed though, he points out all the right things about "this isn't a clinical trial" etc too. Let me know what you think once you've had a look.
Now, apart from falling a little bit in love with the man presenting it (wandering about his fabulous garden in his bare feet making lovely things and being so excited about them, oh I'm getting all teenager-ish about him!) - what sense the man talks!!
Have a look at this programme if you haven't caught it already, it's a stunning introduction to really natural skincare and I love his positive, sensible attitude to it all. He makes it all very easy to understand and he goes step by step through some great little recipes you can make at home. It's modern alchemy, he's definately cast his spell on me, that's for sure :)
I can't remember when I last had a crush like this, it must be Spring or something :)
Oh, and about your migraines, how do you deal with them please (I suffer too)?
I don't really know why, but I've always struggled to get a full night's sleep, it's been a constant part of my adult life and I've kind of learned to get by on a few hours a night. Until this week.
I was given a copy of this CD last week and I am delighted to report that I've had 4 straight fabulous nights of calm, uninterrupted sleep. I've tried so many things (I can't tell you how many lavender bags, herbal tablets, teas and meditation books, rainforest or whale song recordings, that are languishing in various drawers at my place, hundreds of pounds have been spent though) that I'd rather resigned myself to my odd sleep pattern, but I have to say, I feel like a different woman now.
Firstly, well done on the conversation with your Dad, it's all very well making these decisions for ourselves, but once you do, you get this evangelical thing going on and you have to convert everyone don't you? Especially the people you care for most, but it's very gratifying to watch the penny drop isn't it? Well done you!
And yes, it can all get VERY childish here, Rachel's just made a Douglas figure using a cardboard roll, coffee stirrers, shredded brown paper for hair, his glasses and dressed him in a tissue paper lab coat (and a speech ballon of him yelling "Yippeee", his favourite word). It's eating his lunch as we speak, he's not seen it yet. Rachel helps us here in the workshop now, she's in there with Helen and Doug making soaps, lotions and potions. Dean and I work mainly in the shop doing paperwork, despatch and serving. Add in Heleena who takes the helm on Saturdays for us and that's the whole team. Today's childish games include the whiteboard clowning (which just isn't getting old for me yet) and sticking notes on eachothers backs. Helen's also been doing some very unflattering cartoons of me on MSN (I am very slightly hung over today). Purile some might say, we call it team building.
Right, this toothpaste lark, I couldn't agree with you more on the fluoride issue or the silica one and it seems you've come unstuck at exactly the same place I did. Maybe I really am just a stick in the mud, but the idea of myrhh or rosemary in a toothpaste just turns me off. I've not used the GP one though, so do let me know how you get on OK?
And welcome, of course! Thanks for your lovely comments, glad the products are working so well for you.
And I'm just going to have to try this toothpaste aren't I? I'll get on and order some today and let you know how I get on with it, thanks for the recommendation both of you PNSFs! :)
Like I said above, I'm just going to have to try it to see for myself, there's no other way. I'll keep you posted of course, but all your work with changing both your habits and your dads has shamed me into it - it's time to try it now.
And the aroma stuff will be menthol based I would have thought, I just don't get that, it's not an expensive ingredient to start with (not when you consider what myrhh costs for example, that would make you weep..) so why substitute such a cheap thing unless you get the fakey one even cheaper? The words rip and off spring to mind don't they?
You can now find us on Twitter, I'm still learning about it though, so let me know if you have any suggestions.
Oh and while beetling about on the interwebulator I found this report by Greenpeace. I weep, really I do, but I'm very, very grateful they're there.
Hello by the way, hope you're well :)
And yes, it's utterly terrifying and I really don't know the answer to be honest, there's so much conflicting information on the different energies that I struggle to keep up with it all. I'm not sure coal's the answer, but wind and solar energies just aren't quite widespread enough. Wave generation has moved on in leaps and bounds in recent years, but with all of them we have storage and distribution issues to sort out still. The problem is that we're being frightened into accepting short-sighted technologies (energy saving bulbs for example, I'm really not convinced that exposure to mercury is a step in the right direction) when what we need is a cohesive plan that suits industry as well as the private consumer.
*steps off soap box*
And wow, what a result with your dad's mouthwash!!! What was is specifically that convinced him? Is he pretty open-minded or was this all a revelation to him?
Well we've had an ultra busy week, Helen's been off with the kids for half term, so I've been doing some making again, which is always fun. Dean and Doug have been packing fiends though, so we're on top of orders. I've not been getting much reading done though, which is a bit annoying, but I am halfway through re-writing the Sun section of the site, I'll let you know when that's updated properly.
Oh, one thing, does anyone read Natural Health Magasine? It's a really nice one, I'm thinking of subscribing to it (as well as the Ecologist, naturally). One thing about not reading a lot of what I loathe calling "womens monthlies" is that you lose touch with all the new things that women are made to feel guilty about, it's ace. Give it a go if you haven't already.
Just a personal aside about the Ecologist, I was thumbing through a few of thier older articles from 2006 - the never-ending research task of course - and came across articles warning in the strongest terms about the failings of the world banking system and how it could not possibly sustain the growth they were projecting. They really are on the ball that lot, if you've not checked it out, I strongly recommend it. I love the style of the whole thing, informative but not preachy and exceptionally well researched and referenced.
I'm not sure who's reading who's mind here really, but it does make me giggle :)
I'm re-writing the sun section to make the provenance of some of the ingredients a bit clearer really. There are some issues around Titanium Dioxide, but basically it's the best available for a number of reasons and that's what I'll be explaining more fully. And when you balance its' ability to protect our skin against the risks of sun damage, then I believe there's no choice in the matter, so that's what the re-write will reflect, we just want to be a bit clearer because basically, we're talking to a much better informed customer than ever we used to, which is great, it means the message really is getting out there.
But to answer your question, micro-fine titox (which is what we use) bears no relationship to a nano particulate, I can assure you of that. The microfine version sits on the surface of the skin and can't penetrate it, nano-particulates can (which is why we'd never use them). That's why our cream has a very slight whitening effect and also the reason that the nano version is used by other companies, customers demanded a clear sun cream, so they provided it despite the potential risks.
What's in those books wasn't a revelation to us as such, they're nicely written and informative of course, but we came across most of the same research when we created the products in the first place. I guess what's moved on since then is some of the detail of the research (new and more specific tests for example) and some of the production methods. We just want to continue to inform and be completely transparent so that customers can make up thier own minds with all the information to hand.
The really surprising bit was that, far from being scared or surprised, the participants just wanted to play that game over and over again. The result of this test is concluded - if you want to amuse your friends in the pub, then bring a lot more corn than I did. Oh, and mobile phone signals should not be crossed.
Please don't apologise, I wasn't clear was I? And I'm delighted you like to share your opinions, really I am - I think it's vital that our customers talk to us and that we listen. But most of all we love it that you're as passionate about the subject as we are, it's nice to know we're not working in a vacuum here :)
So, let me know how you get on with the books, I know I'll be re-writing some bits on the site as a result of my reading recently. And I'll be adding a new page with a sort of summary of some of the top nasties and why we don't use them too, I'm just on with that now.
And finally, yes, the mobile thing is worrying, we must get caught in crossed signals all the time (on trains for example and like you said, in the office). I don't like it one bit.
If you want to do a bit of general reading on the subject, but aren't armed with a Masters degree in biochemistry (or a medical dictionary to refer to) then these are ones that I'd start with:
TOXIC BEAUTY - by Dawn Mellowship (price £7.99) - an easy to understand and well researched, balanced directory highlighting the issues surrounding the chemicals found in everything from hair gel to hygiene products. Dawn is a well respected beauty journalist and as a result her writing style is very easy to understand. I like this one because you can either read it as a whole, or just dip into it to look up something you've never heard of before. It also takes a serious look at the whole "organic" versus "natural" issue and explains what each of the many, many certifications really means to us as consumers. And it mentions us, which was a nice surprise. Informative and written from a more British perspective than most - which makes is more relevant to us.
SKIN DEEP - by Pat Thomas (price £7.99) - Pat is the editor of the Ecologist (more on this later) and often does a feature in that called "What's in this stuff", which is where I imagine the seeds of this book were sown. I liked this book for the no-nonsense explanations of the basics of the industry (what things like emulsions and surfactants actually are and what they do) and for some of the lovely make-it-yourself alternatives it lists out. It also does some nice myth-busting (ever wondered what hypo-allergenic or ph balanced actually means?) which is much needed. A good book to arm you well when reading ingredients lists too as it has a nice directory of the most common nasties. And again, it mentions us, which we were delighted by, again has a British influence but doesn't ignore the rest of Europe either.
THE ECOLOGIST - If you want to keep abreast of well researched and reliable facts on every green issue from wind farms to fair trade but don't want to be preached at or spoken to as if you're a toxic drain on Mother Earth, then get a subscription to this monthly magazine. It has good regular features and doesn't get caught up in hype, a solid reference and a good read.
A CONSUMER'S DICTIONARY OF COSMETIC INGREDIENTS - by Ruth Winter (don't know the price of this one, sorry). This is a very serious and weighty tome and does exactly what it says on the tin. It's just a reference book, by which I mean that it lists the ingredient, it's source, function and the research done on it (safe levels of daily exposure) and what the effects of long term exposure are. Not a light read by any means, but well researched and very reliable. I refer to this often, but can't refer to it as a cosy fireside read, it's a workhorse, but a good one.
COSMETICS UNMASKED - by Dr Stephen & Gina Antczak - (don't know the price of this one either, but I remember it not being cheap). This is the Granddaddy of books on the subject and was the first I read. Again, not an especially easy read, but incredibly informative and well researched. Some great explanations of phrases used in the industry (do you know what a synergic effect is? or what a buffer is? well you will if you read this). A great book for explaining exactly how the industry works and why things are made the way that they are. It's more American than the others I've referred to, so the reasearch and laws it refers to aren't necessarily the case here (and it's a few years old now too), so further reading is necessary on most points, but if you want to become a very well informed consumer, you should read this at some point.
Sorry for the incredibly long post, but this is a passion of mine so I get a bit wordy :0)
Do you know of or have any other books that you think are worth having a look at?
On that subject, it was amazing to find ourselves mentioned in a couple that I bought recently - in a good way I mean, we were mentioned as a safe alternative which was great - I'll post specifically about them when I've read them all through though, but we were well proud of ourselves :)
As for other brands that are pretty OK, Lilylilo has a good rep for ingredients and customer service (haven't specifically checked the mascara ingredients recently though - have a look and do feel free to ask me about any you're not sure of).
As for ones I've tried myself though, Santee is pretty OK on ingredients but I found that more of it ended up underneath my eyes than on the lashes after a couple of hours, which seems to be the problem with most of the natural ones really, it's a tough one to crack as we've all been so spoiled with the staying power of all the plastic ones.
Does anyone else have any experience of good natural mascaras at all?
Sorry if you took my comments to mean we were thinking of producing something that would compromise our ethos, I didn't mean to imply that but it's obvious that's what came across, huge apologies. We certainly won't be producing a mascara - or anything else for that matter - until we can do it cleanly and in line with the rest of our founding principles, it's just one of the reasons we don't do one now.
I think what I was trying to get at is that we all have different compromises. For example, I don't use the car much and because we live in a rural area, am lucky enough to be able to buy good organic food locally so can avoid supermarkets altogether, but I know not everyone is in that position. On the flip side of that I'm really aware that by being a responsible dog owner, I use a lot of plastic to pick up after the beast. And I am guilty of using some rubbish mascara from time to time too. I try not to beat myself up about it too much though, and in the meantime, I keep looking out for a good mascars to cross that thing off my naughty list.
I started the New Year with lots of resolutions, one was to not let adverts wind me up. Well, that's totally gone to the wall - I have a whinge to air already.
Note to mascara manufacturers the world over - if your mascara really is all that brilliant and will instantly give me "collossal" lashes, then why is it necessary for you to coat the celebrity selling it to me in false eyelashes please? And if you think I don't have time to read the micro-writing the lovely Advertising Standards Agency force you to put up on the ad, you're wrong.
Am I alone in this? Or has my worst fear been realised and I've actually turned into my mother shouting abuse at the telly (sorry Mum, you know I love you really)? Do adverts blatantly selling lies wind you up or does it all just wash over you?
But hello and I hope you're very well. I've not been ignoring you, we've been wildly busy here this past few weeks, a few of us have been ill so I've been busy packing and doing the dreaded paperwork for a bit, sorry if you've felt neglected.
But back to that article, how interesting is that? So, a chemical with lots of side-effects and huge promises actually doesn't live up to the claims made about it? Well, forgive me if I sound cynical, but why is it in so many things and why did the companies involved in including it in products use it? I could pop when I hear things like this - thanks so much for forwarding that bit of info, I'd love to see the whole article if it's not too much trouble, do you have a scanner?
I've always thought that having "wonder ingredients" in a hand soap would make people less likely to wash properly, or to clean properly if the same ingredients are in surface cleaners for example. But it's great to see the confirmation of it. Shame it took more than 40 years of exposure to the chemmical for it to be discovered though, eh?
And how canny of you in these tough times, buying art as investment are you? Or was it just some things you loved? Very happy for you either way. And nice to hear from you - very happy you had a lovely time too.
Is your hand antibac question about triclosan by any chance?
Well, it's kind of the time of year to look back on your achievements and without going on for too long here, we can honestly say that we've been overwhelmed this year. We've had the benefit of incredible support and inventiveness from our customers, for which we are so grateful. We couldn't have done so much this year without you though, you surprise us every day and we can only hope that continues forever, our wonderful customers make life very fun.
So I'll sign off until the New Year now and hope that you all have a very peaceful and chocolate-filled Christmas and the very bubbliest of all New Years.
Well, that and enough antibiotics to sink a ship, but I'm much better now and very nearly fighting fit. Perfect timing huh? :)
Thanks for all your input this year, it's been great fun for us and it just wouldn't be the same without you and PNSF around here now, so we hope to hear a lot more from you in the New Year, but in the meantime, hope you have a wonderful break xx
It's not a programme I normally watch, it's never about happy things is it, so it just gives me new stuff to worry about. But it was quite interesting, it was about the global rise in allergies and asthma and what could be causing this. Apart from establishing that there appears to be a link to one's family history, it seemed to suggest that there's much more evidence than previously thought that it's linked to modern life generally (exposure to car fumes and pollution in general, huge changes in diet, harsh or over-cleaning of the skin etc.). It was also the first time I'd heard a scientist mention that exfoliation might not be a great idea.
When I get a minute (!) I'll check out the trade papers and see if they've picked up on that, but what are your thoughts? Do you think it's actually beneficial or is it just a habit you've got into?
When I've got dry patches myself, my first instinct used to be, just like you, to reach for a scrub of some kind. But now (and all this at the risk of sounding like your mother - please forgive me if it's all old news to you) I do a few other things first, the most important being to increase my intake of water, that's the easiest thing to forget and most important factor in healthy skin, adequate hydration. Secondly I'll look at how much oil I'm eating and try conciously ensure I'm eating enough good oils, the importance of a balanced diet can't be overstressed.
If I figure those factors are pretty well covered, then I'll start applying oil at night. Jojoba's my favourite, that or wheatgerm for my face, but do you know what? For a one off blitz on a problem area, you could also try a bit of olive oil, you've likely already got some in the kitchen and it's worth a go. I'm probably oversharing here, but in summer before I cover myself in the Natural Tanning Cream, I'll do a once-over on my legs with olive oil, just to make sure they're super soft (especially knees and ankles) , it seems to do the trick.
It must be nearly Christmas or something, we're all running about getting orders out, the workshop is busy as a busy thing (we've got two work experience kids with us at the minute too, what were we thinking?) and we've had to put some more shelves in the shop to cope with all the extra stock. So, in between painting the shelves, I'm gilding the Gold soaps for the Gold, Frankincence & Myrrh box seets and trying to keep the website updated.
Helen's been busy today making up all the gift boxes, with a bit of help from the teenagers, on top of getting all the Custom orders made. Dean's not too well at the moment, so we sent him home, I miss him! Doug's been down in the soap dungeon ever since he got in this morning, I suspect he's creating something new but I daren't go down and see to be honest, heaven knows what he's up to. If it turns out better than his soap on a rope experiment, I'll let you know :).
We do look after our customers by offering regular special offers and making sure that loyal customers are rewarded regularly too. We kept the rise to a minimum where we could and by offering larger sizes in things like the Squeaky Clean Gels, we've made sure that a bargain is still there to be had. In particular, we've kept the Mother & Baby range the same as we didn't want to penalise young families.
You might not realise it as I think you're new to the fold, but we've not put our prices up in over 3 years which is almost unheard of in any industry, let alone skincare which is generally considered a premium product. I think that shows we're still very much committed to staying affordable, but we can't ignore what's going on around us.
Hi again :) as I've mentioned to BG above, there's nothing at all to stop you using Baby Range products on adult skin, they're great products and I love the smell of them, so go for it by all means. The simple vs premium oils thing is partly about the amount of processing each one of the base oils take before it gets to us, which affects the cost, and partly about how it's got to be treated in order to make it into a cream, some things take longer and more manpower to produce so are costed accordingly.
As for using vegetable wax in the lip balms, well we could, but it would as you say make them softer (and more suceptible to changes in termperature, so it could melt in your pocket) so we'd have to use something else to stiffen them. But beeswax is also one of the things we can buy locally, the quality of that particular beekeepers' output is utterly out of this world, so we like to support his work (franky, we're lucky to get it, he's very picky about who he supplies, he turned down a number of other companies before he agreed to sell to us). And as for the other lipstick-type shape for the balm, that would mean buying in more packaging and it's only available as a plastic, which is why we went for the more easily recyclable aluminium.
Thanks for your understanding about the price change, it had to happen to keep us in business basically, there was only so long we could go on absorbing all the price rises in every one of our ingredients and we reached terminal capacity. But I think I may have confused you about the processing thing, we don't get in different grades of the same oil to use in different products (like a virgin pressing to use in face products and a 4th pressing for others for example) but some oils take more processing by the supplier, so cost more. This refers to both the base oils and the essential ones - the amount of rose petals it takes to extract the essential oil makes it a pricey item for example, whereas cocoa butter is more plentiful and as a result of being widely farmed for the chocolate industry is more reasonably priced.
I'm just working on producing a whole load of information on why specific oils are used in certain products though, that will be a new feature of the site in the ingredients section of each product (it will show why the ingredient is in the product, where we get it from how it's sourced, either organic or fairly traded) and this will be published before Christmas. But if you have any specific questions about base or essential oils, I'd be happy to answer them of course.
I might have to disappoint you on the nail varnish remover at the moment though, we've not go any plans to start on that, sorry.
However, I can help on the hand balm.... would you be prepared to test out something I've been working on please?
Love to both you and Heidi from both Helen and I xx
So, after he's left for the day, we go down and have a look at what he's been up to, a measure of how nosey we are I guess. Having seen him pop down there with a length of rope under his arm, we were intrigued. We finally found them, a dozen or so amorphous blobs on ropes sitting on top of one of the drying racks looking sad as you like. Getting them out of the moulds without breaking them up obviously hadn't gone quite to plan. He's trying to work out a way of being able to produce them in large amounts, trickier than you might imagine. He'll get there I'm sure. But in the meantime, they've become a bit of a standing joke here, Doug and his Strange Fruit.
Nowhere near as bad as my own soap experiment a while back though. There's a traditional Saffron bun here in Cornwall, and we thought it'd be a bit of fun to make a Saffron soap. So, having added a few strands to a pan of soap and watched it go a beautiful colour and come to trace perfectly, I was hopeful. Then it started to bubble nastily at me. And then it just grew, that's the only way I can describe it, it was like a volcano - within seconds I was faced with a 3 foot high mass of hot orange froth that was spilling out over the edge of the pan and making the worktop its own - and I swear it was hissing. I thought it would never stop. I had to just leave it, raw soap is dangerous stuff, hot oil and caustic basically, so I just came back upstairs looking a bit traumatised, Helen immediately ran down to take a picture of course. It's now the benchmark for how badly wrong soap experiments can go - and it took about 2 hours to chisel it off the counter eventually, it went rock hard and it went everywhere. Not my finest hour :)
Glad you liked it anyway, we do love our jobs here, it must be said, but not every day goes quite to plan...
And the round soaps are out of different moulds, it makes a much larger scale production possible, but we do make both still in every batch. If you really like the square ones, then pop a note into the special instructions section and we'll do our best to make sure you get them.
What were you trying to do with the sugar and acetic then?
But they're not just doing it because they think it'll be a laugh, they're doing it all for a very worthy charity, the Cornwall Blind Association. Now, I can't begin to imagine all the skills you'd need to be able to even consider this, boat making aside, the navigation and survival skills plus the astounding fitness levels required just boggle my wee mind. We think that's just amazing and so we're doing whatever we can to help them.
We're creating a few products for them to take with them to keep thier skin in great condition (it's hard to make things foam in salt water, but we'll crack it), some special balms etc for thier hands and muscles, we'll keep you posted on how that goes. But in the meantime, please take a look at thier link and get in touch if you think you can help in any way, sponsorship's a great start, but maybe you have some practical help you could offer too? These guys are doing all of this off thier own backs, literally, so please help them if you can. I think they're absolute heroes, let them know what you think.
Have you ever considered a career in the cosmetics industry PNSF?
I got taken to the pub last night by my lovely other half. Now, people do tend to bring up green issues around all of us here quite often when we're out socially, being in the business we're in, but this conversation was a bit different. We were sitting with a couple mates, one a builder and the other an artist.
My other half mentioned how much he'd like a dishwasher (yes, I know I'm lucky, he does all the washing up) and that as soon as we can afford it, he's going to buy one. I didn't get a chance to raise an objection before the other two rounded on him for even thinking of it. Then, and this is the interesting bit, they started discussing how much hot water it's actually necessary to use, what dish soap they use and the relative merits of each of the brands (all of them eco-friendly).
I think that by the time 3 guys like them sit around debating this kind of thing in the pub of a Wednesday night in a wee town like Penzance, the message really is getting through :)
Thanks very much to PNS Fan, that was a great explanation of just how difficult it is to create tests for every eventuality. We do take this issue very seriously, as you'd expect, but we need to be pragmatic too. So we have one test done on new batches and another done after 6 months to ensure quality is preserved. It's great to see such lively debate though, that's how we all learn.
Just to make a wee point about the quality of the base materials when they get to us, they are indeed imported from Africa, but they're processed for us under very stringent conditions in a laboratory in England. We get a chemical data safety sheet with every batch of the 30 odd oils we get in and that details the composition, physical & chemical properties, stability & reactivity, toxicological & ecological information, saponification value and microbial activity in each and every batch. So we can confirm that the oils are indeed very clean by the time they get to us.
It's sensible to use a spatula or cotton bud when handling any natural creams, in the same way you wouldn't use a dirty knife to spread jam on your toast, it really doesn't take long to get the hang of how much you need.
And finally BG, if at the end of all this you still have concerns but haven't yet got to grips with raw oils, have you considered moisturising with them at night rather than in the morning? Most people who find oils a bit heavy find that this gets around that very well indeed.
And I can quite understand that you got a bit worried, there's a lot of scaremongering about, in every industry I suppose, but in this one particularly I think. So the research you're doing is really important, it will help you spot the myths and sort out the science behind them, but there's no easy way to do it, you just have to get all the information you can from as many sources as you can and make your own mind up. Saying that gangrene is present in a cream is very scary, but they forgot to mention that it's an airborne disease (usually caused by Strep or Staph, the same bacteria that cause strep throat for example), so it's present around us a lot more than we'd like the think about.
Your skin is completely covered in bacteria, the numbers of them per square inch would make you cringe if you thought about it too much, but we seem to live in a culture now that's painted all bacteria black. We (well some people) spray our homes in anti-bac agents without a thought as to what damage we're doing to our bodies by inhaling them and by stopping our own immune systems doing thier jobs. But not all bacteria are bad for us, those suffering with diabetes or suppressed immune systems do have other considerations, but normal healthy individuals do more harm to themselves in my opinion by sanitising every surface they contact. I'm not saying that we should all roll around in pig muck at every opportunity to give our immune systems a good old work-out, but I hope you can see where I'm going with this. The presence of some bacteria does not equal certain death, any more than the lack of it equals complete safety.
So, back to you and your skin, have you tried the Massage Bars? They leave enough pure oil on your skin to moisturise, but not enough for you to be sticking to your pillow or jeans and leaving an unpleasant oil slick.
Thanks for the name change, it will make the original PNS Fan much more comfortable and as I replied to that poster, I had assumed it was an honest mistake, so no harm done.
It's a fascinating subject and people do have different views, but that's the whole point about being able to understand what goes into skincare products. I mentioned before that we get our products tested regularly, so that puts our minds very much at rest about thier safety. We prefer not to use parabens as even the industry experts are still unable to agree on thier relative safety. When you bear in mind that these are the same experts that have approved the use of formaldeyde in skincare for example (just one in a very long list of things I don't like the idea of bathing myself in) then I reserve the right to avoid them until proof positive is put before me.
But this whole process is about choice, if you still have concerns, then perhaps you might consider using oils to moisturise with? We provide them scented or plain, items in the DIY range such as base oils, raw shea butter and coconut oil, not forgetting products like Shea Souffle or the Massage Bars - none of which have water in.
I'm sure it was an honest mistake though, and as you quite rightly say, everyone has a right to question anything, it's just nice when it's done transparently, eh?
And I shall pass on your problem about posting in the string to our web bods, I did think that had been fixed - sorry. We do have paragraph breaks now though, that's an improvement (for my old eyes anyway).
No, we don't agree that parabens are the only (or even the safest) way to control microbial activity. Very often when people make references to this type of instance it turns out that the cream in question was home made with tap water for example, which we of course don't do. If you keep your base materials clean, your workshop spotless and control exactly what goes into a cream, it ends up clean. And we get ours independantly tested on a regular basis to make absolutely sure of that, that's just the responsible thing to do.
Parabens will extend the life of a cream, yes, that's why the chemists who work for these large companies - who always have a keen eye on the bottom line remember - are so in favour of them. But if a clean cream is used quickly by a person who has more than a passing relationship with soap, then it will not become a hive of bacteria.
Finally, you're very welcome here of course, but having read PNS Fan's comment above, it might be a nice idea if you posted under another name in future, it helps to avoid confusion and upset to others who have posted here for a while.
Bleach free - well done you! And I'll mention that building alternative when it comes to us having a new one fitted; that's a really interesting point, there must be more structural ways of avoiding damp, even in this mizzly Cornish climate, and thereby keeping ourselves away from chemicals to combat it. Thanks for that.
As for your anti-bac query, I don't know if Dettol contains triclosan as I don't use it myself, but check the label, it's one of the ones that scares me witless to be honest. I'm not in the habit of using anti-bacterial things in my kitchen, I use a lot of lemon to clean with instead, it's great on sinks and on the inside of the fridge, keeps it smelling fresh and sparkly clean. I boil the cloths I use in the kitchen, so they stay very clean and bright white. And if I really feel like doing a deep clean, I'll use about 10 drops of teatree oil in a garden mister about a quarter full of some boiled but cool water.
I'd guess that with your job you probably have a very unique attitude to antibacterial agents do you? If I were dealing with ecoli on a regular basis, I guess I might too :)
Ooo thanks Nic, cheers for your help, I'll check one of those out - worth the investment you reckon? I like the sound of that...
